More than meets the eye
by Godfather
Summary: The TT are hired by a Japanese company to protect CEO, Mr.Takahashi with the help of Kaila Tanaka,the young security director whose unprofessional attraction to Robin puts Starfire in danger of losing him. BBxRaven in here too.
1. The offer

"Ohh yeah!" Robin exulted. He leaned his head back and sighed as he took in the aroma of the thick, juicy, greasy hamburger that had just been delivered on a platter right in front of him.  
  
Beasy Boy arched an eyebrow in contempt. "Dude," he said, "eating meat, its just so . . .sick. Now this, this here is true food." He triumphantly held up a plate full of cauliflower and tofu.  
  
"Yeah, whatever," the Boy Wonder managed through a mouthful of hamburger. He looked across the restaurant table at Starfire, who was squirting barbecue sauce into her mouth.  
  
"Ah, this Beebeecue sauce is delicious! I wish-" She was cut off by a glower from Raven.. "What?"  
  
"Barbecue," said Raven dryly, "its pronounced barbecue. And it is definitely not meant to be eaten solo. Just like mustard, remember?"  
  
Starfire did in fact remember, and having Robin regard her with confused disapproval was definitely not one of her most cherished memories. She promptly set the delicious sauce down.  
  
A waitress came by once again, putting a platter of caviar in front of Raven and spaghetti with chocolate syrup on top, as Starfire had specifically ordered. Instead of leaving then, with the last of the Titans served, she bent down near Robin. "The young lady over there," she began, pointing at a booth in the corner of the restaurant, "she aksed me to tell you that she wishes a word."  
  
Robin froze in mid-chew. "Wif me?" he asked. He looked over at the table that had been pointed out to him. Sure enough, there was a girl there, perhaps a little bit older than he. She was looking straight at him with an inviting smile.  
  
"Yes, she asked she to speak with the guy in the cape and mask." The waitress chuckled. "You seem to be the only one there who fits that description." With that, she walked away.  
  
Robin chanced a glance back at the girl. "Whoa," he heard Beast Boy say from behind him, "who is she?"  
  
Robin shrugged. "I dunno. I've never seen her in my life."  
  
"She sure is cute though," Beast Boy observed. He jokingly elbowed Robin. "Hey, if you don't wanna go see what the pretty lady wants, I'll go. She probably meant me anyway and just made a mistake."  
  
Raven made a sound that was almost a snort, but not quite. "Dream on."  
  
Cyborg looked back at the girl sitting way o0n the other side of the restaurant. "You know what," he said, "I'll bet she's a fan and just wants an autograph."  
  
"Yeah," Robin said, "that's probably it." He turned to Starfire, the only Titans who had yet to speak. "What do you think Star?"  
  
Starfire shrugged. "I do not see why she does not just come over here if she wants to see you so badly."  
  
"So I guess you'll have to just ask her," finished Cyborg. He gave Robin a shove that sent him flying out of his seat. "Now go on, man."  
  
"Well, OK." Robin purposefully, strode towards the girl, whose bright smile had gone up a couple notches when she saw him coming. As Robin neared, he could make out that the girl was indeed quite pretty. She had decidedly Asian features save that her eyes were a bright orange. Her hair was quite short, although entirely feminine and she had bright gold bangs framing her face. He was wondering what he was going to say, but she saved him the trouble by starting the conversation immediately when they were in earshot of one another.  
  
"So you got my message," said the girl genially as Robin sat down.  
  
"Yeah." Robin smiled and pulled out a notepad and a pen. "Don't worry, I don't mind doing a favor for a loyal fan." He lowered the pen to the paper. "So then, who do I make this bad boy out to?"  
  
The girl's smile faltered. Then she realized what was going on and laughed, placing a hand on Robin's from across the table. "Ah, Robin. I did not ask your company for an autograph."  
  
Robin colored. "You didn't?"  
  
"No. Actually, I have a proposition for you, for all of the Titans, if you prefer."  
  
"Proposition?" Robin looked back to where his teammates sat, even though they were too far away for him to be able to decipher the looks on their faces. "What kind of proposition?"  
  
"I'm glad you asked." The girl brought a small, and very expensive purse out from under the table. "By the way, my name is Kaila, Kaila Tanaka. Most people call me Kay."  
  
"Hello, Kay."  
  
She smiled again, and then found what she was looking for in her purse. It was a business card that read, Takahashi Inc. Robin nearly choked on his french fries. Takahashi Inc. was a well known electronics producer that had made the world famous GameMatrix wireless video game system. The Titans had in fact just purchased one, on which Robin, Beast Boy, and Cyborg often played one of their favorite video games, Shopping Cart Derby 15.  
  
"I take it you recognize the name," said Kay Tanaka.  
  
"Yeah-yeah they make video games."  
  
"Among other things. I am the security advisor and director for Takahashi Inc."  
  
"But you're-"  
  
"Young? Yeah. They have pretty liberal employment policies."  
  
Robin paused. "So what does this have to do with the Titans?"  
  
"The proposition. I would like to hire you as security detail for Takahashi Inc."  
  
Robin's eyebrow arched.  
  
"Thing is, we've been having quite a few problems with some new research we've been conducting."  
  
"What kind of problems?"  
  
"Sabotage, or at least attempted sabotage. We've tried to keep this from the media, but several of our research facilities have been attacked, by whom we don't know. Its almost certain that they are after our highly classified research. There have been three different attempted kidnappings on our scientists, and the culprits seem to be impossible to catch. We need to something soon, before they do something really serious."  
  
Robin was beginning to understand now. He had to admit, the concept was intriguing.  
  
"Of course," continued Kay, "you would be well compensated for your time. Four hundred dollars an hour plus any Takahashi merchandise you want."  
  
Robin was more than intrigued now. He wanted to hop up on the table and say 'YES YES YES YES YES!', but there was always the rest of the team to consider. "It sounds interesting," he said, choosing his words carefully. I would of course have to consult with my teammates before making a decision."  
  
"Of course. I wouldn't expect you to agree on the spot. Listen, if you want to contact me, I'll give you my number, email, all that stuff. We can meet at my office, so we can have a little more privacy." She smiled once again, and slid out from the table. "It was a pleasure to meet you Robin."  
  
"Uh . . .you too."  
  
***  
  
"Wonder what they're talking about," Beast Boy mused as they watched the conversation from all the way across the restaurant.  
  
"Whatever it is, it's sure taking to long to be an autograph," Cyborg noted.  
  
"Did Robin just blush?" Raven asked in monotone.  
  
Beast Boy chuckled. "Yeah, I think he did. Whooo, Robin you play-yah." Beast Boy looked at Raven. "You know I taught him everything he knows."  
  
Raven said something (which for the sake of this being a PG story) I will translate into "Beast Boy, that is total nonsense." ~_^  
  
Starfire looked a bit unhappy. "I'm sure that there is nothing going between Robin and this girl who has for some reason invited him to her table." She had intended to sound confident, but what came out was nothing near that.  
  
Cyborg looked at her incredulously. "Have you seen that girl. Man, if that was me she'd invited over there for a little one on one, I'd-"  
  
Thankfully, none of the Titans managed to hear all about what Cyborg would have done in Robin's position, for Beast Boy (quite rudely) interrupted him. "Dude, she's getting up."  
  
"Thank you for stating the obvious," said Raven dryly.  
  
"You're quite welcome," Beast Boy shot back, unable to come up with a better comeback. Raven just shook her head and continued to eat her caviar.  
  
Robin got up soon after, and headed back towards their table. "What happened?" asked Starfire as Robin neared them.  
  
Robin grinned and sat back down. "Well," he said, "you guys are never going to believe this . . "  
  
AN/ Well, tell me, what do you think? Is it good? Should I continue? Do you have any suggestion? Reviews would be most appreciated.  
  
-Godfather. 


	2. We accept!

"Dude, repeat that number again," Beast Boy demanded.  
  
"Four hundred dollars an hour," Robin said for the third time. "Plus any Takahashi merchandise we want."  
  
"ANY merchandise we want?!" Cyborg asked incredulously.  
  
"Yes, I believe that's what I just said."  
  
"How can we not take it?" said Beast Boy. "Dude, you have to go to that girl right now and tell her we want the job."  
  
Robin ignored him, instead turning to the two female members of the Teen Titans. "Star, Raven, what do you guys think?"  
  
"We should take it," Raven said. "It's the same kind of thing we usually do, except we get paid. No brainer."  
  
"Star?"  
  
The young Tamaranian girl shrugged as she carefully mixed her latest recipe, an amalgam of dinner suggestions that she had found on various websites. "I suppose," she said noncommittally.  
  
Robin looked around at his teammates, each one doing something or another in the Tower's main room. "OK then, I guess it's settled.  
  
***  
  
By popular vote, Robin was the one who would negotiate the terms with Kay, which was why he found himself standing outside the large, elegant house with the address that mirrored the one Kay had given him. It looked pretty expensive. He supposed you could afford houses like these when you worked for such a large company.  
  
Kay answered on the second ring, opening the door wide and allowing him to step inside. Unlike last night, she was wearing clothes that actually seemed to fit her true age. Faded capris, a bright pink tank top with word SPICY running across the front in glittery letters, and simple hoop earring dangling from each earlobe. As with the previous night, Robin had to try pretty hard to keep from staring.  
  
Kay flashed her million-watt smile at him. "Hi," she said warmly, "You came just when I thought you would." She pointed to a large, comfortable looking couch that was slightly to the right. "Do you want to sit down?"  
  
"Uh, sure."  
  
"Soda, anything I can get you?"  
  
"Not really."  
  
"OK then." Kay waited for Robin to sit down before plopping down on the couch right next to him. "So tell me Robin, have you talked with your fellow Titans?"  
  
"Yeah. From what you said last night, it looks like we're going to take the offer."  
  
"Excellent!" Kay beamed at him. "You won't even have to go through hours of paperwork or anything. I'll provide you guys with a thousand dollars up front, and then payment will go as I previously said from then on. Our North American headquarters are on the opposite side of the city from your Tower, so if you find that an inconvenience, there are many quite luxurious living spaces in the actual building that you and your friends could occupy."  
  
"That would be nice," Robin mused. "By the way, how long would you need us to act as security?"  
  
"Only about a month. By then, we should have all of our research done and completed."  
  
"What exactly is this top-secret research about anyway?" Robin asked out of simple curiosity.  
  
Kay shrugged. "Truthfully, I have no idea. Kinda weird that they won't tell their own head security advisor what it is exactly she's supposed to be securing, but that's the way it is. Only the top guys in the company know what the research is, other than the scientists of course." She paused. "You sure you don't want anything to drink?"  
  
"Yeah," Robin told her.  
  
""Alright then, well, I have gone to the liberty of getting these," as she said this, she reached into her pocket and pulled out two floppy disks. "Here, you will find the layouts of some of our major buildings, as well as the complete documentation of the police reports that were made after we first started having trouble with these . . .saboteurs, for lack of a better word."  
  
Robin took the disks, looking at them briefly. "Thanks," he said. "These should be really helpful."  
  
"Great. So I'll see you at the ball."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Oh, I must have forgotten to tell you. Takahashi Inc. is having celebration of sorts, you know, in commemoration or something of our new Gotham facilities."  
  
"Are you inviting me?"  
  
"Yes, well, you and the other Titans. Its really not a big deal, unless you're allergic to tuxes or something."  
  
"Tuxes, huh."  
  
"Yep." Her brow furrowed. "You will come, won't you?"  
  
"When is it?"  
  
"Two days from now. 8 to around 12."  
  
Robin ingested this bit of information silently. Finally, he said. "OK, We're in."  
  
"Great." Kay looked over at him. "You sure you don't want anything to eat or drink?"  
  
Robin was admittedly tempted. "Thanks, but I kinda need to get going."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Uh, yeah, I'm sure." Robin stood up.  
  
A look of disappointment flitted over Kay's face for a brief moment, but it was gone as suddenly as it had come and replaced by that brilliant smile of hers. "Well," she said, standing up, 'it was an absolute pleasure meeting with you. Perhaps another time we could work out some more of the details."  
  
Robin gulped involuntarily wondering if he was mistaking friendliness for something else, or if it really was that that something else. And if so, was that such a bad thing? He snapped back to reality then, realizing his mind had drifted off. He managed a lopsided smile. "Perhaps." 


	3. I don't do the tux thing'

Robin yelled and threw the three batarangs in his hand at the hulking figure. Each one exploded against his chest, impacting with the force of about a crate of Semtex. A normal human would have been reduced to oh-so- many pretty little cinders. Bane was only knocked down on his butt.  
  
He killed them. He'd killed all of them. Star, Raven, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and before them, Batman. Robin was all there was left standing between this knew even more pumped-up version of Bane and the unsuspecting populace of Gotham City. He didn't hesitate when Bane went down, opting instead to attack full-force. He leaped on top of his archnemesis, the only supervillian to have managed to paralyze and kill Batman.  
  
Robin whipped out his bo staff and prepared for the knockout blow. Bane was faster however. He managed to knee Robin in the stomach, causing Robin's head to snap forward and right into Bane's forehead in what was a terribly brutal head-butt. Robin saw stars.  
  
Bane lifted the Boy Wonder up with ease in one hand, standing up himself. His eight foot figure was blurry against the setting sun and Robin's half- consciousness. Bane smiled the full face mask he wore contorting wickedly. "Bye kid," he said. He placed a thumb on one side of Robin's head and a forefinger on the other, as if he were about to twist the cap of a bottle of soda. He chuckled once again. "You were just too easy." He sharply turned his wrist, snapping Robin's neck and twisting his head into a one- eighty.  
  
AAAAGGHHhhH  
  
Robin sat up, sweat pouting in rivulets down his face. His hand immediately went to his neck.  
  
It took about two seconds for him to realize that it wasn't real, that he'd only been dreaming. It had seemed so real though. So realistic, right down to the familiar smell of the explosions, the impact of the blows, everything. He took a moment to concentrate on slowing his breathing, and then got up, throwing the covers off. He needed milk. Yes, that was it, a nice cold glass of milk.  
  
He walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, not bothering to turn on the kitchen light. He squinted. Where was the milk?  
  
The lights went on suddenly. "Robin?"  
  
The Boy Wonder turned around upon hearing Starfire's voice. "Star? What are you doing up?"  
  
The young Tamaranian girl stepped all the way into the kitchen from the hall where she had been standing. She looked tired, her hair was rumpled, and her purple T-shirt hung hapahazardly off her shoulder. It looked like she had just been woken up. "I am very sure I heard you yell out," she said tiredly.  
  
Robin closed the fridge and stood up straight, thinking back to his nightmare. "Oh."  
  
"It woke me up," Starfire continued. She ran a hand through her hair. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Uh, yeah. Just a nightmare, that's all. You know where the milk is by the way?"  
  
"Cyborg drank the last of it this morning."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Starfire cocked her head to the side. "So what was giving you nightmares?"  
  
Robin shrugged. "It was weird Bane had just killed you guys and even Batman. I was the only one left and then he killed me too."  
  
"Morbid," remarked Starfire. She arched a brow. "I must say, you have never seemed like the type to have nightmares."  
  
Robin walked over to the staircase leading down to the basement. He looked over his shoulder with a wry smile. "You'd be surprised Star."  
  
***  
  
"What was the impression you got from him?" asked Vergil Lee, Kay's boss. She was in his office, having been called up to offer a debriefing.  
  
Kay found it rather disconcerting that the room lights had to be dimmed so low, but her boss had never tolerated much light. No that she could remember anyway. She shrugged, crossing her legs as she sat down on the black sofa that was backed against the wall. "Robin? He's great."  
  
"Do you think he will take the job?"  
  
"Yes, it certainly seems that way."  
  
"Did you invite him to the festivities?"  
  
"Of course. I think they'll be there as well." Kay leaned forward. "Still not going to tell me what it is that they're supposed to be protecting, are you?"  
  
"Its top-secret research, and that's all you need to know."  
  
Kay sighed. "Figures. Well, I have homework to do, so if that's all . . ."  
  
"You can go." Vergil watched disinterestedly as the girl got up and left the room, glad that she had closed the door behind her. A quick press of a button and the door was locked as well.  
  
A figure came out of the shadows then. He was a tall, well-dressed man in an Armani suit and Gucci loafers. He was wearing sunglasses.  
  
"She suspects nothing," the figure said. It was half statement, half question.  
  
Vergil chuckled. "Of course she suspects something. How could she not? As long as its not anywhere close to the truth, there is no problem." He turned around. "What made you decide to drop by, Mr. Takahashi?"  
  
"We just had another break in."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"The Gotham facility, where else? A couple of guards are wounded. No serious injuries. They didn't manage to locate the artifact of course, but it worries me to no end that Rupert's men have been able to infiltrate our facilities time and time again."  
  
"That should all change once the Titans join our security team."  
  
"It had better." Takahashi frowned. When he had first stolen the ancient artifact from crime boss Rupert Thorne, he'd apparently overestimated the ability of his security forces to handle any retaliation that should come as a result. He should have known better though. Robbing a thief is the ultimate insult, and Rupert Thorne no doubt had taken it as such. Under any other circumstances, he would be prepared to deal with Thorne and his hoodlums, but not now. Not in the midst of a grand opening in which he had PR work to handle, financial transactions to make, and business deals to solidify. Not to mention that he wanted as little involvement with a crime boss as possible, what with the media's eye locked on his company, which was probably one of the biggest things to happen to Gotham since LexCorp's rebuilding project after The No Man's Land period. They even expected Takahashi Inc. to give WayneTech strong competition.  
  
He snapped out of his reverie. There was one more thing he had to discuss with his subordinate. "I've noticed something about Kay," he said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"She seems to have developed a fondness for Robin."  
  
"Her and every other teenage girl in Gotham. The guy's more of a heartthrob to most of 'em than boy bands, what do you expect?"  
  
"You agree with me then?"  
  
"About Kay? Well, I don't disagree. I mean, I haven't seen anything less than professionalism from her so far -"  
  
"Still. In the end, it is imperative that her loyalties lie with us, not Robin and the other Titans."  
  
Vergil nodded. "Of course.  
  
***  
  
The next day, Robin told the Titans about two things he'd sort of forgotten to mention the night before. "Guys," he said, "yesterday, Kay invited me-I mean- invited US to a ball."  
  
"A what?" The question came from Beast Boy.  
  
"Ball. You know, a party, a dance, that kind of thing."  
  
"Why?" asked Starfire suspiciously.  
  
"They're having it as a commemoration of the opening of their new Gotham facilities. Its pretty formal, which means tuxes for us guys and . . .uh . . .fancy clothes or whatever for you girls."  
  
"Hey, hold it right there man," Cyborg interjected. "I don't do tuxes man."  
  
"And I can't stand dresses," Raven added darkly. It would have been nice if you'd consulted with us before you agreed to it."  
  
"C'mon guys, its only for one night, and it'll help us to get more familiar with the company and stuff."  
  
Starfire sighed. "If you say so."  
  
Cyborg didn't look too happy about it, but he stood up anyway. "Well come on guys, lets go buy us some fancy clothes."  
  
Top of Form | | |  
  
Bottom of Form 


	4. Would you care to dance?

Ding-dong  
  
Got it, called Robin, striding over to the door. He wondered who would be visiting them. Unless . . .He opened the door.  
  
"Robin! Hey!"  
  
Kay. He opened the door wider, allowing the girl to step in the door. "Hey yourself," he replied. "What's up."  
  
"We were just leaving," Starfire said from behind Robin. "Now."  
  
"Let me guess," said Kay, still smiling. "To get some formal attire for the gala, right?"  
  
Robin couldn't help but notice Starfire's lack of acknowledgement. Unless he missed his guess, Star was acting more than a little rudely towards Kay. Why? He felt almost embarrassed, what with Star acing so strangely. He shot her a brief questioning look and then turned back to Kay. "You're right. We were just heading over to the clothing store."  
  
"As I suspected. Actually, I'm glad I managed to get here before you guys left, otherwise, you would have gone on an unnecessary shopping trip." She paused, but then upon seeing the bewildered looks on the Titans' faces elaborated. "See, I've already taken the liberty of selecting your attire for the gala."  
  
"You chose our clothes?" asked Beast Boy."  
  
"Not really. I actually purchased several different outfits for each one of you. All of them yours to keep as a sort of advance payment, but you can choose any one of them to wear. Come with me down to your condos and I'll show them-" She stopped, once again noticing the Titans (all except for Robin) had no idea what she was talking about. She gave Robin a pointed look.  
  
He shrugged. "I guess I kinda forgot to mention it."  
  
"Apparently," said Cyborg. "We don't own any condos."  
  
"We do now," said Robin. "Look, its no big deal. I know it sounds weird, moving out of the Tower temporarily, but we really don't have much choice. If we really are going to take this job, we need to be able to respond quickly to any threats that should arise, right? How are we supposed to do that from the Tower. Its as far as far can be from Takahashi Inc. It'd take thirty minutes at minimum for even those of us with flight capabilities to reach the place, and by then, it would most likely be too late.  
  
Raven sighed. "Still, how are we supposed to be that effective without all of the resources here?"  
  
"That will all be provided for," said Kay. "A recharging station, for example, has been installed for the benefit of Cyborg. Any other features in the Tower that you may require in your new temporary home will be provided."  
  
"A gym?" asked Cyborg.  
  
"There is a private one in the condo's sub-levels." She looked around. "So, is everybody cool with that?"  
  
"Yeah," I think we are," said Robin.  
  
Kay grinned. "Great."  
  
***  
  
Jealous, are we," commented Raven four hours later. She said it with a straight face, making the statement more of an observation than a tease. She plopped down on the couch in Starfire's room, waiting for a response.  
  
Starfire didn't even bother turning around from the mirror in which she was combing her hair. "I do not know what you are talking about."  
  
This time, Raven's mouth quirked up in a semi-smile. "Kay. That's who I'm talking about. "You haven't said or done a polite thing to her since you two met. I've never seen you act that way to anyone, Star."  
  
Star still didn't turn around. "I do not want to talk about it now," she said.  
  
"Fine, but just tell me. What don't you like about Kay? I mean, she hasn't even done anything to you."  
  
"I never said that I did not like Kay."  
  
"You sure give enough hints. And I'm not the only one who notices, I could tell how embarrassed Robin was at your hostility to Kay this morning."  
  
Starfire colored instantly. Raven had just hit a nerve, and now it was she who was feeling acutely ashamed, wondering what her actions must have seemed like from Robin's point of view. She sighed. "I really do not wish to talk about it, Raven."  
  
"By all means, don't talk about it then." Raven sat up and tapped a finger to her left temple. "Think about it." With that she got up completely. "They should be done putting my stuff in my room now, its been at least a half hour." Raven pointed to the group of dresses hanging up in the open closet of Starfire's room. "Pick the purple one."  
  
***  
  
"I look ridiculous," Cyborg grumbled as he fixed his tie. The guys of the team were in Robin's room, prepping up for the gala.  
  
Beast craned his head to take a look. "Don't worry tin man, you always look ridiculous."  
  
"You guys done yet?" asked Robin. He still wore the mask, as well as a tux, ring, and watch that probably cost more than all of his other clothes put together. All of this provided by Takahashi Inc. His bo staff was cleverly concealed inside of a diamond topped cane, and he had a full compliment of birdarangs inside the tux pocket. Just in case.  
  
"Yo Rob, don't you ever take that mask off?" asked Beast Boy.  
  
"Sure I do. Just not in front of you guys."  
  
Beast Boy rolled his eyes, shoving his hands inside the pockets of his green suit. 'Having a secret identity seems like such a hassle man."  
  
"It can be." Robin looked at the clock. "OK, Its about time now. Kay said we were supposed to rendezvous with her and the girls a little before the gala starts, so we'd better leave like now."  
  
"Make sure you guys don't let anyone see me," said Beast Boy as they trotted down the stairs. "Me and a stylin' suit, it's a lethal combination. Wouldn't to get run over by a mob of lovestruck fangirls before we even get there, would you?"  
  
Cyborg shut the door behind them. "I'll say it since Raven's not here to. Dude, you're not funny."  
  
"Dude, you're not funny," Beast Boy mimicked. "Whatever." He looked down at the cane that Robin was twirling absentmindedly between his fingers. "What's with the bo-staff? We're not going to go beat up supervillains-"  
  
"For once," injected Cyborg.  
  
"We're just going to a ball. Think of the one in Cinderella. You didn't see the prince come to the party loaded down with weapons, did you?"  
  
"I've never seen Cinderella," Robin informed him twirling the cane/bo staff into the air only to neatly catch it as it fell in mid-twirl. "Besides, a bo staff and a few birdarangs is hardly what I call loaded down with weapons.  
  
"Never seen Cinderella!" Beast Boy shook his head in mock disapproval as the trio entered the building. "It's a classic! Cinderella wearing the glass slippers and . . ." he trailed off. "Speaking of which, wonder if the girls got as dressed up as we did."  
  
Robin nodded his head to the left. "See for yourself."  
  
"Guys," Kay exclaimed when she saw them. She walked over, threading her way through the people congregated in the library. Raven and Starfire trailed close behind.  
  
"Just on time," Robin greeted them. "We were wondering if you were going to make it."  
  
"Ditto." Kay tilted her head to the side. "Nice tux."  
  
"Thanks. So when des this thing start anyway?"  
  
"Now, as a matter of fact." Kay pointed to a large set of doors. "C'mon," she said, taking told of Robin's arm, "we'd better get in now, while there's not a line stretching back a mile."  
  
"Uh, OK." Robin let Kay lead him and the other Titans through the door. What greeted him was a room. More like an auditorium really. It was huge and tables were aligned all across the walls. It would have been dark were it not for the large disco ball that hung from the ceiling casting bright pinpoints of light all over the floor and walls. Some type of slow jazz song played gently through the large space.  
  
"Should we just grab a seat?" asked Cyborg from behind.  
  
"No need. You guys already have a table reserved up in front," Kay told him. "Here, I'll show you." It was a relatively short walk to the table, although it was hard to navigate while the room was filing up with people. Kay stopped at a circular table with six seats. "Here we are," she informed them.  
  
"This music is terrible," Beast Boy complained once the group was seated. Their seating arrangement had already been decided, as there were name cards all around the table indicating who sat where. Not that the green animorph minded so much. He was next to Raven, after all. And boy did she look stunning. He'd barely been able to keep his jaw off the ground, seeing his teammate in an actual dress.  
  
"Stop complaining Beast Boy," Raven said. She gave an absentminded tug at the collar of her dress, a purple formfitting garment with lace, translucent sleeves and a wraparound scarf of the same material. She wondered if she looked as ridiculous as she felt, especially since Beast kept staring at her, which he would have no reason to do unless he thought she looked strange.  
  
"If you'd like a different selection of music, I'm sure you could arrange it with the DJ," Kay was saying to Beast Boy.  
  
"You think he'd listen to me."  
  
Ordinaily, no. But you are, after all, a Titan. The company values your help a lot, so I don't think he'd mind.  
  
"I think I will get some soda," Starfire announced, rising to her feet.  
  
Kay shrugged. "Help yourself, we've probably got like fifty different kinds on the punch table. For the next half hour or so, you guys can do whatever you want. Dance, talk, eat, it doesn't really matter."  
  
"I'll go with Star," Raven said. "Make sure she doesn't eat the napkins or anything."  
  
"Count me in," said Cyborg, leaving with Raven and Starfire.  
  
Kay looked straight a Robin, a small smile playing on her face. "What about you Robin?"  
  
Robin twirled his disguised bo staff. "Oh, I dunno I'm not that thirsty."  
  
Kay's smile grew wider. She stood up. "Well. In that case, would you care to dance?"  
  
****  
  
Outside, it was a cold night. In turn, the ten mysterious figures crouched on the roof above the skylight were freezing. The leader, a tall man in a full face mask and with enough weaponry on him to start an armory looked back at his team. "Remember guys," he said as he adjusted the laser targeting mechanism on the monstrous .50 handgun he hefted in his coarse hands. "Two million dollars for this hit. For each one oof us. Don't let a little cold make you forget that."  
  
"I think I see one o' them Titans, said one of the men, peering down through the skylight.  
  
"They will probably be the biggest obstacle, which is why we must get in, kill Takahashi as soon as possible, and then get out while we have the element of surprise with us. We can't afford to directly engage the Titans, they're too powerful for that. And Roland isn't paying us to knock a couple of superpowered kids. We're getting paid to knock off Takahashi. Remember that." He finished adjusting the laser, and with a deft twirl had it back in its holster. The gun was deadly. Accurate, and with unbelievable power, especially with the custom adjustments he'd made. One shot, no matter where on the body. One shot, and Takahashi would be dead. 


	5. Suprise Suprise

"I'm afraid I don't really know much about dancing," Robin admitted as Kay led him out to the floor. The music was slow, a popular jazz song, if he wasn't mistaken.  
  
"There's not much to it," Kay said, putting her arms around his neck. You just kind of go like this and sway a little." She smiled tilting her shoulders just so. Robin tried it.  
  
"Perfect," said Kay. "That's basically all you have to do. It can get more complicated of course, but that's it in a nutshell."  
  
"Easier than I thought," Robin said. Kay nodded and they danced all the way through the song.  
  
***  
  
"Would you like to dance?" asked a redheaded guy, maybe a few years older than Starfire. She had been so preoccupied watching Robin and Kay that she hadn't heard him the first two times. Finally, on the third try, he got her to turn around.  
  
"Excuse me."  
  
"I asked if you would like to dance," he repeated.  
  
"Oh. Um, I am sorry. Not right now."  
  
"Later then?"  
  
"Perhaps," Starfire answered. She didn't mean to be rude, but there was only one person she really wanted to dance with, and he seemed to be having the time of his life with Kay Tanaka.  
  
She walked forced herself to turn away and back to the punch table, pouring herself some delicious soda. "You are still here," she commented to Raven who was leaning against the wall.  
  
"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"  
  
Starfire shrugged, downing a gulp of her root beer. "Oh, I had simply thought that you would be engaged in the act of dancing, that is all."  
  
"Dancing's not really my thing," said Raven.  
  
"I think Beast Boy would be rather disappointed to hear that." Starfire smiled when she saw Raven stiffen instantly.  
  
"What?" Raven asked in a measured tone."  
  
Starfire smiled. "You have not noticed the way he's been looking at you?"  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"In fact, if you were to turn around I am quite certain you would see what I am talking about."  
  
Raven took a moment to take this in. She relaxed her posture, let out a breath, and then whirled around, looking straight at Beast Boy.  
  
That he had been observing her in his peripheral vision was obvious, despite the fact that he immediately looked at the ceiling, pretending as if he hadn't been anything.  
  
Raven blushed. "He was probably just looking at the wall."  
  
***  
  
Outside, the leader was calmly observing events below. Aside from the Titans, he counted five bodyguards, two of which were obviously pretending to be regular guests. Most everyone was either talking or on the dance floor now, something that would last for perhaps another ten minutes, then Takahashi would get up and start talking. He held back his growing impatience. Ten more minutes.  
  
***  
  
"What about you?" Raven asked, changing the subject. "Half the male population in here seems to be giving you a lot of attention." Her mouth went up in something resembling a smile.  
  
"Perhaps," said Starfire, "They are not whose attention I want."  
  
"Oh." Raven pushed off from against the wall. "He'll come around," she said assuringly. She didn't ask whom Star was referring to. Didn't need to. With that, she strode towards Beast Boy's table. "That said, perhaps I should take a little of my own advice."  
  
She nearly bumped into Kay, who neatly sidestepped what would have been a very embarrassing collision. "Sorry," Kay apologized. She turned to Starfire. "Hey."  
  
"Hello," Starfire said. Ouch, that had come off a little ruder than she had intended If Kay was put off, she didn't show it. "Having a good time?"  
  
"Yes"  
  
"I'm glad. Designing a gala is a tough process, its glad to know the work paid off."  
  
"It is very pleasant," Starfire said, forcing herself to be nice.  
  
"Thank you." Kay was doing a better job of it, but it was clear she too was trying to make conversation without touching what was obviously on both of their minds.  
  
Starfire touched it first. "So. . . you and Robin dancing."  
  
Kay nodded. "I rather enjoyed it."  
  
"I rather noticed." Starfire was surprised at how quickly she resorted to sarcasm.  
  
"You know, Robin suggested I come over here and talk to you."  
  
This caught Starfire off guard. She instinctively turned her head to Robin who was talking to Cyborg.  
  
"He said," Kay continued, "that he thought you might be a little unhappy with me. I honestly didn't have any idea why that would be." She tilted her head to the side. "Are you?"  
  
"Perhaps."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Oh well, a little honesty couldn't hurt. "I am not completely comfortable with how fast you have taken over our lives. You seem to be making many of our decisions for us. Where we live, what we do, it makes me a little uneasy."  
  
"Oh. Silly me, I uh, had the funniest idea that it was because of Robin."  
  
"What does Robin have to do with this?"  
  
"I don't know Starfire, you tell me."  
  
"If you are implying that I am jealous . . ." Starfire said coldly.  
  
"Your words not mine. I really don't know what on earth you would have to be jealous about."  
  
Starfire could have said what she really thought. She could have said that Kay had been hanging off Robin like a lovesick puppy dog and that she flirted so shamelessly (in her opinion) with the guy she had to make sure not trip on the pheromones. "I do not either, because I am not jealous. You asked if I was unhappy with you and I answered honestly, now if you will excuse me," she said instead, stepping past Kay. "I think I need to go sit down."  
  
***  
  
"Here she comes."  
  
"Shut up Cyborg," Beast muttered. He paused. "Really?"  
  
"Would I lie to you?"  
  
"Yes." Beast Boy turned around, coming face to face with Raven. "Hey Raven."  
  
"Hey yourself. Havin' a good time?"  
  
"Cyborg sure is. His dance card is longer than my arm."  
  
"Speaking of which, I wanted to ask you something."  
  
Cyborg made a face slowly backing away. Beast Boy's mouth wasn't responding to his brain commands. Had he heard right?  
  
He would never know. One second, his mind was in la-la land and the next, he was looking up in what seemed like slow motion. He heard the distinct sound of breaking glass and he could see the silvery shards reflecting the multitude of ambient light in the room. Dark figures, quite a few them suddenly appeared, hopping down through the opening created by the broken skylight.  
  
What the heck?  
  
Gunfire broke out suddenly, snapping Beast Boy back to reality.  
  
"Get down! " Raven shouted, forcefully tackling him to the ground. His breath left him in a whoosh and his eyes went wide as he saw the table bisected by a hail of bullets. His glass of juice exploded and carrot juice splashed all over his tux. There was screaming now, and for some reason, the slow music that had been playing was still booming over the speakers, creating an eerie contrast with the sudden chaos that had taken over.  
  
Raven yanked him to his feet. "C'mon," she yelled, "I think they're after Takahashi!" She did a quick count. There were nine . . .no, make that ten of the dark-clad figures. Each held submachine guns and they were all moving toward the podium, where Takahashi had been apparently about to begin speaking. She caught a table top in her telekinetic grasp and flung towards the nearest one, catching him off guard. The remaining rounds in his gun went into the ceiling, one of them hitting the giant disco ball hanging from the ceiling. It dropped, almost certain to fall on a little girl who had fallen on the floor.  
  
A blue beam split through the air and knocked the killer disco ball out of the air, making it harmlessly hit the wall. Cyborg reloaded his sonic cannon. And aimed again, this time at one of the attackers.  
  
***  
  
Robin 's bo staff was up and out in a flash. He was the closest to Takahashi and with a gravity-defying aerial backflip that would have put most Olympic gymnasts to shame, he landed in front of Takahashi, protectively shoving the man behind him.  
  
"What's going on?" Takahashi asked tersely.  
  
"We're under attack. You need to get down to the ground so you don't present an easy target," Robin said, switching into his take-charge persona. Several bullets pinged against the podium, but didn't penetrate, for which Robin thanked his lucky stars. It would provide adequate cover. He dove from behind the podium, two birdarangs in hand. Both of them were specially made for hard impact, custom weighted with hard titanium alloy edges. He immediately sighted his two preferred targets, the two closest attackers. Bullets whizzed past him, many narrowly missing. He threw, and then hit the ground, turning his momentum into a log roll from which he expertly hopped back onto his feet and into a crouching position. Both birdarangs connected with solid thuds, and returned back to Robin's hand. That took two out of the equation. Or rather, four, he revised when he saw Raven take one out of the picture with a tabletop and Cyborg blast another into a table. A starbolt clipped one of the attackers in the shoulder, spinning him around and right into a back kick from Beast Boy, who turned into a mule. Ouch!  
  
Most of the partygoers were gone by now, and Robin winced when he saw five bodies on the ground, a cursory look confirming that they were either dead or would soon be. Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Cyborg, and Kay ran up to the front, all breathing heavily.  
  
"Is Mr. Takahashi alright?" was Kay's first question.  
  
"I'm fine," confirmed the man. "Just make sure you apprehend whoever is responsible for this outrage."  
  
"It was then that Robin noticed the distinct lack of gunfire. He peeked from around the podium and saw that the remaining attackers had dropped their guns and now wielded nunchucks. Robin himself had come across the weapon before in his escapades with the Dark Knight concerning Xiao Shung, a former student at Batman's old jujitsu training school who had turned to villainy, using his commendable martial arts skills. Nunchucks had been Xiao Shung's weapon of choice. Most people would hurt themselves worse than an opponent if they tried to use the weapon, but it could be deadly in the hands of someone who knew how to use it. "Get them," Robin commanded, and the Titans reacted swiftly, charging at the mysterious men. Raven aimed a rather impressive roundhouse at one of the attackers, and was in for a surprise when he caught her foot in the chain that connected the nunchuck sticks. With a savage twist, he whipped her off her feet and she slammed into the ground with spots dancing before her eyes and pain shooting up her ankle.  
  
Apparently, these guys knew how to use it. 


	6. The chase

Beast Boy pounced, letting the inbred instincts of the Saber toothed tiger take over. In mid leap, his body transformed into the magnificent big cat. All five-hundred pounds of him careened into one of the would-be assassins, sending him backwards with a pained whumph.  
  
And then he got up, something that no regular human should have been able to do. Growling, Beast Boy charged again, this time, slicing at his opponent with his razor sharp claws. In this form, he was fast but somehow, his opponent was faster. He sidestepped Beast Boy just in time to avoid being opened up like a bag of potato chips.  
  
Beast Boy was puzzled now. Somehow, he sensed that these five were different than their cohorts, whom the Titans had taken out with little difficulty just seconds before. Unfortunately, he never got to complete the thought. His animal hearing alerted him to the presence behind him, but he had no time to react to the heavy numchuck baton that came crashing down on his back. He tried to move, but couldn't. It was as if his legs simply weren't obeying his brain. His vision began to blur, and his thoughts slowed down as he staggered, looking for all the world like a drunken cat. A pressure point, the guy must have hit a nerve cluster or something, he thought, right before his world went dark.  
  
Robin could only watch in astonishment as the remaining assassins defeated Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire. Raven and Beast Boy were already down, and an expert strike from Starfire's adversary connected with her head, making a terrible thwacking sound. Starfire had been in midair and she immediately dropped to the ground, stunned. More than stunned, actually. Her eyes glazed over and she soundlessly slumped to the ground, leaving Cyborg to fend off the other five. In a matter of seconds, he too was defeated.  
  
There was indeed something different about these five. They fought much better than the others had, and Robin had serious doubts as to how long he withstand them. He turned to Kay. "Kay, get Takahashi out of here," He commanded authoritatively. The five remaining assassins were approaching.  
  
"I can't," she yelled. "The only exits are at the front. I'd have to get past them first."  
  
It was then that Robin noticed the wicked-looking handgun Kay held in a two- handed grip. It looked so out of place in the grip of such an innocent- looking girl.  
  
"I can hold my own," she said.  
  
Robin certainly hoped so. The five assassins had spread out so that they surrounded the podium, their numchucks spinning furiously. Two of them rushed on either side of Takahashi , converging towards Robin and Kay. Robin barely had time to get his bo-staff up before the baton end of the chained weapon came hurtling at him. Metal met metal with a solid clank, leaving Robin in a very advantageous position. He counterattacked, remembering once more the countless hours he'd spent under Batman's tutelage, training with his bo staff. While it may not have had the versatility of numchucks, it was certainly easier to strike with. He chose a five-blow combination, one of the earliest he'd learned. With the swiftness off a darting snake, he penetrated his attacker's defenses and landed five good blows, all strategically aimed at the weak spots in the human body; nerve clusters, pressure points, etc. The man dropped like a rock.  
  
In his peripheral vision, he noticed another one of the dark figures, approaching him from the side. That trick might have worked on Beast Boy, but it wouldn't on him. Robin delivered a brutal side kick that doubled the man over and followed up with an equally ruthless uppercut that sent his head snapping back. The man tried desperately to put his hands up in a blocking position, but Robin's knockout kick crashed through anyway, knocking him clear off the platform.  
  
He turned to Kay just in time to see her audibly break one of the assassin's shins. He howled in pain, the first sound Robin had heard any of them make since they'd arrived, but then Kay shut him up with a blow to the head from the butt of her gun.  
  
That left one last assassin, and he did not hesitate to point what looked like a gun at the ceiling. Emphasis on looked like, for instead of a bullet, a long, black cable with a grappling hook at the end snaked upwards through the air until it found a steady hold on the outside rim of the broken skylight. He thumbed a button on the handgrip, and suddenly shot into the air, pulled up by the cable.  
  
Robin observed this out of his peripheral vision, calculating his different options. He looked at Kay. "Nice job. Listen, I need you to see if you can revive the other Titans."  
  
Kay frowned. She too could see the fleeing assassin escaping. He was almost to the skylight by now. "You're not going to chase him, are you."  
  
"It won't take long," Robin promised. He turned to Takahashi. "You're sure you're not hurt?"  
  
"I'm fine, but I agree with Kaila. You shouldn't-"  
  
Robin had tuned him out now. He took out his own grappling hook and aimed carefully at the skylight. "Here goes," he muttered under his breath. The grappling hook imbedded itself on the roof outside and he let himself go, holding firmly to his grappler. The assassin above him looked down and pulled out his gun, firing two shots. Robin twisted his body in mid-air, swinging to the left and just barely avoiding being hit by the two rounds at point blank range. Kay was screaming down below that he was going to get himself killed, and he hoped she was wrong.  
  
The fleeing assassin grabbed the rim of the skylight and hoisted himself over. He aimed the gun at Robin who was now holding on to the edge himself. He pulled the trigger.  
  
Click  
  
Robin grinned. "You're empty." He hoisted the rest of his body over the edge, savagely lashing out with his foot. He caught the underside of the assassin's jaw. Then a sharp pain exploded in his gut and he doubled over, the air in his body leaving him all at once.  
  
The assassin didn't bother to hang around any longer, opting instead to run towards the edge of the building.  
  
What is he thinking? Robin wondered as he struggled to his feet. They had to be the equivalent of a good four stories straight in the air. Nevertheless, he gave pursuit, noting that there were a lot of sirens now. It was about time.  
  
The assassin reached the edge . . .and jumped, clearing the fifty or so feet that separated that rooftop from the next. It was an impossible feat, or at least it should have been.  
  
Robin had been trained in the circus. He was in better than peak human shape and one of the best athletes in the world. However, even he couldn't jump a fifty-foot gap.  
  
Or could he?  
  
Robin kept running, except that when he hit the edge, he pulled out his bo staff, extended it, and used it like a pole vaulter's pole, planting it firmly into the roofing and using it to launch himself. He felt a wave of nausea just then as he flew through empty air high above the traffic below.  
  
Then he landed on the adjacent roof, turning his fall into a somersault in order to dispel the force.  
  
The chase began anew as Robin pounded after his quarry, running faster than even he would have thought possible. They cleared rooftop after rooftop at a dizzying pace as they made their way through Gotham City.  
  
Robin finally brought the frantic pursuit to an end. After a half hour or so, he finally gained enough on the assassin that he was able to use one of his customized birdarangs.  
  
It flew through the air with a sharp whistling sound, and the masked assassin turned around just in time to see a black and yellow blur suddenly explode in a massive tangle of black cables. The next thin he knew, he was on the rooftop looking up at Robin with strong black cables tying him from arms to feet. He couldn't move a muscle.  
  
Robin approached slowly now that the guy was immobile. He knelt down. "Who are you?" Silence.  
  
"I said," Robin repeated testily, putting pressure against the man's sternum with his bo staff, "who are you?"  
  
"It doesn't matter," Said the man. His voice was a deep baritone, one that sounded almost sad.  
  
"Why doesn't it matter?"  
  
"Okay then, different question. "Who sent you?"  
  
"Rupert. Rupert Thorne."  
  
The name sounded familiar to Robin, but he couldn't place it. "Why'd he send you?"  
  
Takahashi took something from him." The man coughed, so Robin eased the pressure somewhat. "Takahashi, he's got somethin'." He coughed. "Thorne wants it back."  
  
"What?"  
  
No answer. The man wasn't even looking at Robin anymore. He was focused on something else, something in the sky.  
  
Robin froze and his blood turned to ice. The skin on the back of his neck prickled and as luck should have it, that was the exact moment when he heard a thwop-thwop-thwop sound approaching. His back was to it, but the downed assassin must have seen it all this time.  
  
Robin ran without thinking, launching himself out of the way just in time so as not to be impaled by the hailstorm of bullets that came down with no warning. The sound was utterly deafening. The onslaught tore through the rooftop assassin like a piñata. Whole chunks of gravel went cascading in every direction as lead pounded the rooftop. The assassin never stood a chance, and neither did Robin if he didn't do something quick.  
  
He ran in a zigzag pattern, making himself a difficult target to acquire but one or two bullets hit him anyway. The reinforced Titanium alloy in his cape kept them from penetrating, but not from knocking Robin off his feet.  
  
A beam of green energy suddenly pierced the dark sky, destroying the twin machine gun turret on the underbelly of the helicopter.  
  
Starfire.  
  
The Tamaranian girl fired two more starbolts, forcing the helicopter away from Robin. Thepilot, whoever he was had the good sense to pilot his craft away while he still could. Starfire didn't waste time trying to chase him down, instead she floated down to the rooftop, offering Robin a hand and helping him to his feet.  
  
"Are you alright?" was the first thing she asked.  
  
"Yeah, I think so. What abut you?" Robin could see now that Starfire sported a rather nasty purplish bruise on her left cheekbone.  
  
"I am fine," said Starfire, putting an arm around Robin to help prop him up. She made the mistake of turning around in the direction of the assassin Robin had been interrogating just a few moments earlier, and her hand flew up to her mouth in shock.  
  
"He didn't stand a chance," Robin said. He sighed, his head low. "Lets go back."  
  
***  
  
Robin had barely gotten through the door to the team condo when Kay leaped off the couch and hugged him fiercely, so tight that he was beginning to forget what breathing had felt like. When she finally let him go, she held him at arm's length. "What were you thinking?!" she half exclaimed, half demanded.  
  
"I'm a superhero Kay, chasing down bad guys is what I do for a living."  
  
"You almost got killed."  
  
"Almost." Robin looked over at Starfire, who had distanced herself to the wall after Kay nearly squeezed him to death. "Thanks Star, by the way. You saved my life."  
  
That got a smile out of her. "You have done the same for me many times."  
  
Kay gave Starfire an obligatory smile and finally let Robin go, giving Robin the opportunity to survey the rest of his team. Cyborg had a nasty- looking bruise on his eye and his suit was in tatters. Beast Boy, having reverted to normal form bore no physical injuries, but his tux wasn't much better off than Cyborg's, plus he had the additional myriad of juice stains. Raven had a bandage wrapped around her ankle and her dress had a couple of bullet holes.  
  
He looked down at his own attire. His shoes were scuffed, which was to be expected of course, since they were not at all meant for running. Other than that, his clothes had come out reasonably unscathed.  
  
"So what happened?" asked Cyborg once they were all seated.  
  
"Uh, I chased him two or three miles and I finally caught him. Asked a couple questions, but then from nowhere, a helicopter just swooped in and started shooting at us, although I think he was the main target."  
  
"What did the guy say before he died?" The question came from Beast Boy.  
  
"He said-" Robin thought back to the fleeting conversation. "He said that a man named Rupert Thorne sent him because, and I know this is going to sound crazy, Takahashi stole something from him."  
  
"Thorne," Kay mused. She was sitting as close to Robin as humanly possible. "He's a crime lord, right?"  
  
"Yeah. Anyway, he said Mr. Takahashi took something from this guy and that now he wants it back."  
  
"Killing someone hardly seems like the way to retrieve something they took," Kay said. "It doesn't make sense, maybe the assassin was delirious or something."  
  
"Or even lying, I don't know. Still, I'm going to have to ask Mr. Takahashi about it. Where are the others, by the way."  
  
"The other assassins? They're on their way to the GCPD jail."  
  
"Hmmm." Robin's eyes went wide all of the sudden. "How well protected are they?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I think that whoever shot the guy I chased is going to go after them too."  
  
"Even then, it'd be nearly impossible," said Cyborg, the built-in computer in his arm running. "They're in as armored PTV (Prisoner Transport Vehicle) and there's a convoy of five or six squad cars plus a few police choppers just to make sure nothing goes wrong."  
  
"Alright then, lets start with what we know," Robin said. He ticked off a finger. "One, ten guys broke into the gala right before Takahashi was scheduled to speak and tried to kill him."  
  
"About that," Cyborg interjected. "I've finally got an ID on those guys. They call themselves the Elite 5-"  
  
"But there were ten of them."  
  
"The extra five were cheap backup," Cyborg continued. "That probably accounts for some of them being formidable opponents and others toss-offs. The original five out of the Elite are supposed to be pretty good when it comes to fighting, they specialize in the ninja arts, although they have an affection for guns as well. They're mercenaries."  
  
"OK. Anyway, we also know, or are at least pretty sure, that Rupert Thorne, a Gotham crime boss, hired these guys to kill Takahashi." He ticked off a second finger. "What we're not sure about is why, since I'm not sure how reliable that assassin was."  
  
"We also need to find out who the people in the helicopter were," Starfire added.  
  
"Right, I actually have a hunch about-"  
  
The ringing of Kay's cell phone interrupted Robin's words. She pulled it out of her jacket and flipped it open, putting the small device to her ear. It was a completely one-sided conversation, in that Kay didn't say anything. Robin could only watch as her face went from confused to worried to downright shocked from whatever it was she was hearing. Finally, she shut off her phone.  
  
"Who was that?" asked Raven.  
  
"My boss, Vergil Lee. He says that all of the other remaining assassins were murdered while on their way to the police station."  
  
***  
  
Takahashi and Vergil watched the television screen as footage from the mysterious drive-by shooting that had killed the nine assassins plus a good deal of their police entourage the minute they stepped out of the car.  
  
"Jeezus," muttered Vergil. It was bloody alright, and decidedly ruthless as well.  
  
"You are absolutely sure you had nothing to do with this?" asked Takahashi.  
  
"Please! I'm not a moron and there's no way I would kill our only known leads to what Thorne's been up to."  
  
"Thorne then. I must say, its not his style-killing his own mercenaries for failing him."  
  
"Maybe he was in a bad mood."  
  
"Or maybe he actually did accomplish whatever he wanted done, and he had his own employees killed because they were loose ends." Takahashi sighed. "I'm going to schedule a press conference, talk about how thankful I am that the Titans reacted in time, that sort of thing. In the meantime, I need you to find out what exactly the one assassin told Robin before he died. Its probably nothing of significance, but I can't risk the Titans being tipped off about me."  
  
Vergil nodded. "I'll see to it." 


	7. Just asking questions

Rupert Thorne, successful entrepreneur as well Gotham crime lord angrily threw the small, lightweight phone against the wall where it shattered upon impact, breaking into a million little pieces. He swore.  
  
"If I may ask what troubles you sir," his personal assistant Julia began.  
  
"What's troubling me?" He made a mock imitation of her refined British accent. "What's troubling me?! What's troubling me is that Takahashi is not at this very moment on his knees begging me to let him live."  
  
"I thought you wanted him dead."  
  
"No, that's simply what I told those incompetent ninjas. To motivate them. I never expected them to be able to actually kill Takhashi."  
  
"Then why send them?"  
  
"Primarily to scare the man. They came highly advertised, as you well know, and the objective was to show Takashi that even the Teen Titans cannot protect him. Instead, one of the most famous group of assassins in the market was dismantled by a couple of spandex-wearing kids. If anything, Takahashi is now emboldened."  
  
"Perhaps not. You came very close to actually killing him. You may not have been successful, but now he knows that-"  
  
An alarm sounded just then, causing Thorne to look up suddenly.  
  
"Intruder," said Julia. She rose to her feet, taking off her chauffeur's cap, revealing short black hair.  
  
"See to it," said Thorne, fully confident in Julia's abilities. She was proficient in more than a dozen lethal martial arts, and was also well- versed in the use of firearms. Whatever it was, Julia would handle it.  
  
The assistant stepped outside.  
  
"Ooommph!" With a sickening thud, her form came flying right back through the exit, knocking the mahogany door right off its hinges. Julia hit the ground in front of Rupert's desk with a thud, blood arcing from her mouth as she fell. Thorne was shell-shocked.  
  
There were two figures in the doorway, a man and a woman, eighteen years of age or so. Both were clad in form-fitting black leather bodysuits, and both wore black trenchcoats. The man was obviously quite well built, and he had short, tidy blond hair framing a surprisingly handsome, well-chiseled face. The female was almost as tall as the male, which was around six feet or so, and she similarly seemed very fit, with an athletic build. Her long blond hair was tied in a ponytail.  
  
And she was rubbing her fist, wiping away the last traces of Julia's blood. Thorne reacted instantly, reaching under his desk and pulling out a loaded revolver. He fired twice.  
  
And then suddenly, the gun was gone and the woman was crouched on his desk, the revolver dangling from her left hand index finger. The other hand held a knife to his throat. The movement had been fast, almost faster than the eye could follow. She had crossed the twenty feet between them in a fraction of a second, something no normal, or even better than normal human should have been able to do. He took in a breath, only to have the skin of his throat press painfully against the steel knife's edge.  
  
"Do I have your attention?" She had a cultured British accent.  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Good." She smiled genially. "My name is Ana, behind me is my brother, Karl, and we have a little proposition for you."  
  
***  
  
Robin watched grimly as a sheet was pulled over the last assassin's lifeless eyes.  
  
"It wasn't pretty," said the coroner as he wrote in his notepad.  
  
"You were there?"  
  
"No, but I got the pleasure of examining the bodies. Nasty stuff."  
  
"Do we have the footage yet?" asked Kay, standing next to Robin.  
  
"Cyborg's working on it." The scene had not been intentionally filmed, since reporters had been kept away at all costs. However, they would have been naïve to think that someone didn't manage to get a shot-the media was well known for its ability to get just about anything on tape, and the arrest of one of the most infamous assassin squads on the planet was no exception.  
  
Kay sighed, leaning back against her parked motorcycle. "Robin . . .I'm really sorry all this happened and kinda ruined you guys' night. None of us were expecting-"  
  
"No need to apologize," Robin cut her off. "It was fun while it lasted, and we were able to our job, which is to protect Takahashi and the corporation. So were you."  
  
Kay nodded. She seemed almost contemplative for a moment, her hand in her chin. Finally, she spoke again, turning so she could see Robin's profile. "Is there anything between you and Starfire?" she asked suddenly.  
  
Robin (who at that very moment had been looking at Starfire as she flew high above in the sky to keep a lookout for another attack) looked at her, not having heard her words clearly. "Hmm."  
  
"You and Starfire. Are you guys just friends, or . . ."  
  
Robin had no idea what had brought about that question, but he obliged, giving the instinctive answer. "No, just friends. Why?"  
  
A grin. "It's the silliest thing really. I was just getting this kind of . . .I dunno . . .vibe from watching the two of you, it made me wonder."  
  
Face warming, Robin asked, "A vibe?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Robin looked back at Star. A part of him said that this was just imagination, he and his Tamaranian teammate were just friends. The other part though made him wonder what it was in his interaction with her that had given Kay the idea in he first place. And what of Kay? He would have to be blind not to see her obvious interest, even if he pretended not to. Where did she fit into all this?  
  
He shook his head, stopping his wandering thoughts. He could worry about his romance life later, but right now, he had a job to do.  
  
***  
  
Back at their condo, the five titans plus Kay crowded in the living room to watch the video that Cyborg had put together, a veritable amalgam of the different bits and pieces of any kind of video data that had managed to capture even the remotest aspect of the drive-by, whether they were surveillance cameras or photos or videos taken by journalists who had managed to slip by the police barriers. Also included was a compilation of eyewitness accounts from police and pedestrians alike.  
  
"What kind of man kills those in his own employ for no reason," Starfire murmured, listening to the footage of one witness describing how the bullets had ripped the handcuffed assassins to shreds.  
  
"A man who doesn't give a crap about human life," Raven stated bluntly. She reached over and turned off the television. "Well, I think we've seen enough."  
  
"Yeah," Robin agreed. "What we need to do now is devise a plan to keep Mr. Takahashi safe. We can't count on the chance that Thorne's going to give up just because his first attack failed."  
  
And so in the following hour, the Titans plus Kay worked on a plan. Basically, it was to constantly move Takahashi from location to location, and keep him under wraps. No more public appearances, those were like a sniper's heaven. Takahashi's own security force would always be spread out around a two mile radius of wherever Takahashi would be staying. Thorne had the money. He could afford the best in mercenaries and killers, Robin reminded them before they departed. These next few weeks would be the hardest. Objective one, therefore, was as always to keep Takahashi safe. Objective two: find Thorne, and stop him.  
  
***  
  
Later that night, Robin knocked on Takahashi's door, waiting patiently for his new employer to open it.  
  
"Who is it?"  
  
"Robin."  
  
The door creaked open, allowing Robin to step through. Takahashi had been watching the news, but he turned it off once Robin entered. "Ah, Robin, what can I do for you?"  
  
"Nothing, much, I just had a question."  
  
"Shoot."  
  
"What do you know about Rupert Thorne."  
  
The congenial smile on Takahashi's face slipped for just a second, but Robin, who had been gauging his features for a reaction noticed. "He's a crime lord, right?"  
  
"Ever had any dealings with him?"  
  
"Of course not?!"  
  
"Any negative interactions at all?"  
  
"Why would I deal with a common thug?"  
  
"That's what I want to know. See, the thing is, I just can't figure out why this guy wants to kill you so badly."  
  
"Oh, come now Robin. My company has enacted numerous crime prevention programs, every thug and drug dealer on the streets probably hates me."  
  
"Enough to hire a professional death squad to kill you in a room full of superheroes?"  
  
"Perhaps."  
  
"The man I subdued, he said something about you stealing an item from Thorne."  
  
"Either the ramblings of a deranged fool or a carefully crafted diversion to throw you off track. Either way its nonsense."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Are you insinuating something?"  
  
"No, I'm just asking questions." Robin stepped back outside. "Think on it."  
  
He shut the door. 


	8. That, We Promise

"We want the artifact," said Ana  
  
"What?" asked Thorne, incredulous.  
  
"You heard me, Mr. Thorne. My brother and, in return for our services, want the artifact."  
  
"And what services exactly are you offering?"  
  
"Your enemy knows you were behind the 'botched' assassination. Although I suspect you never intended your killers to succeed, they don't know that, and the Titans will almost certainly come after you, especially given the bad blood that was already there between you and Robin."  
  
"You certainly know a lot about-"  
  
"Don't interrupt me! Anyway, we can protect you from the Titans. In fact, we will destroy, every last one. Your artifact will be no problem to steal back, and we could even rub out Takahashi in the process."  
  
"In case you've forgotten, that artifact is the only reason I'm in this situation in the first place."  
  
"You're in this situation because you are dedicated to restoring your pride. You had an ancient relic stolen from right under your nose. It is useless to you, Mr. Thorne. We kill the Titans and Takahashi, you keep your reputation for severely punishing those who mess with you, and we the relic."  
  
"Why do you want it so bad? What is it?"  
  
Ana smiled. "All in due time, Mr. Thorne. All in due time."  
  
"Your new safe house, Mr. Takahashi." Robin grinned, stepping aside and affording Takahashi a full view of the interior. After taking the time to look around, the older man nodded and stepped inside.  
  
"For a facility twenty feet underground, it is quite well furnished."  
  
"Solves a lot of problems too," said Cyborg. "The lack of windows and the fact that it's below ground practically eliminates the option of a sniper. This place is practically impregnable from a security standpoint thanks to MY modifications, and the entrance is a complete secret. You couldn't be safer in Fort Knox, man."  
  
"Glad to hear it," said Takahashi. "I can see now that hiring you was a good decision on my part."  
  
"We do our best," said Robin guardedly. Unlike his other teammates, he wasn't really soaking up Takahashi's lavish praise. He was still suspicious of the corporate tycoon, and one of the main things he had learned under the tutelage of the Batman was that it was never good to ignore an instinct.  
  
Kay walked up behind him, her arm encircling his shoulders. "You picked a great place for the safe house," she said.  
  
"Thanks." Robin hesitated as if trying to decide something in his mind. "Kay, can I talk to you?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"I mean like a private talk."  
  
One of her eyebrows arched up. She grinned. "OK. Outside should be fine. Or there's a burger place across the street."  
  
Five minutes later, the two were sitting down in a Wendy's restaurant, Robin sipping a lemonade and Kay a diet Coke. "So what is it?" Kay asked.  
  
"It's about Mr. Takahashi."  
  
A look of disappointment, then a frown, flitted across Kay's face.  
"What about Mr. Takahashi?" she asked guardedly.  
  
"I-I think he's hiding something from us."  
  
"That's ridiculous," Kay exclaimed. "I've known Mr. Takahashi a lot-"  
she quieted down slightly when Robin raised his index finger to his  
mouth in a shushing motion. "A lot longer than you, and if he's hiding  
something, its because we don't need to know. He's a good person."  
  
"I think he stole something from Rupert Thorne."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because, Kay, Thorne wants the guy dead really bad and according to  
Takahashi, he's never had any dealings whatsoever with him. It doesn't  
add up. He must have done something to royally tick off Thorne to  
provoke all of these attempts on Takahashi's life."  
  
"Maybe he's just mad because of the crime and drug prevention programs  
that the company has recently enacted. Those have probably cost Thorne  
and lowlifes like him a lot of money."  
  
"That's what Takahashi said, and it still doesn't ring true for me.  
See, I checked up on Thorne's revenues, and they haven't really  
changed much with the coming of the company's anti-crime campaigns,  
effective as they may seem to be. What leads me to the conclusion  
though is what one of the assassins said to me on the rooftop: that  
Takahashi stole something from Thorne and that's why the assassins  
were sent."  
  
"I refuse to believe it," said Kay firmly, crossing her arms in front  
of her.  
  
"Fine, but at least keep the possibility open in your mind, and think  
back over the past few weeks to anything suspicious you may have seen.  
I don't expect you to agree with me, but I want you to be aware of my  
position."  
  
"Why? If you think my boss is a criminal, why come to me?" asked Kay.  
  
Robin finished his soft drink and set it aside. "Because I trust you."  
  
That caused Kay to be speechless for a moment. Then, slowly, she  
leaned over the table and kissed Robin, gently touching her lips to  
his. Another moment, and she pulled back. "Thanks," she said. "I'm  
glad to know that."  
  
"Uh . . .yeah." Robin was still a little off balance. "We should uh,  
get back."  
  
"Yeah." Kay stood up. "We should."  
  
"Where is Robin?" asked Starfire as she finished packing her things  
into the new room she would be sharing with Raven.  
  
"He and Kay went off somewhere," said Raven over her shoulder as she  
slipped five costumes identical to the one she wore into a drawer. She  
turned around. "Why?"  
  
"Just curious," said Starfire as neutrally as possible, even though  
she was unable to keep the frown out of her voice.  
  
"Y'know, maybe if you had acted sooner, Kay wouldn't be moving in your  
territory."  
  
"I have no territory."  
  
"Exactly." Raven walked over to the bed, plopping down and letting the  
springs bounce her up and down. "He was primed, yours for the taking."  
  
"I really do not know what you are talking about. And you, Raven,  
hardly seem qualified to give me advice on . . . .this."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"You and Beast Boy, that is what I am talking about. I know you like  
like him, and I know he like likes you, yet you have never acted on  
it. So do not tell me about what I should or should not have done  
because whatever it is, you are guilty of the same."  
  
Funny that Beast Boy should pop his head through the door at that  
exact moment. "Hey!"  
  
Go away," said Raven, telekinetically closing the door, only to have  
Beast Boy pop his right through again.  
  
"What is this? Girl talk?"  
  
"Go away and forget everything you just heard."  
  
"Beast Boy grinned smugly "I heard everything."  
  
At first, a look of panic crossed both girls' features, but then  
Raven's eyes narrowed. "Liar."  
  
"No really."  
  
"Then what were we talking about."  
  
Beast Boy opened his mouth as if to say something, and then realized  
he had nothing to say. "Okay, I admit it, I didn't hear whatever you  
girls were talking about."  
  
"I figured as much," said Raven. "Now what do you need?"  
  
"Oh, Robin and Kay just got back and Robin says there's something he  
wants us to see."  
  
"Coming," said. Raven. "Now bye."  
  
"Fine" Beast Boy stepped back and slammed the girls' bedroom door  
shut.  
  
Raven stood up. "We'd better go see what is," she suggested.  
  
Starfire nodded. "I am sorry for snapping at you," she said. A wry  
smile appeared on her lips. "You were right."  
  
"So were you." She smiled. "At least you have good taste. I'm stuck on  
a green, tofu-addicted vegan who chews with his mouth open and leaves  
the toilet seat up."  
  
Starfire giggled at the description, glad strangely enough that Raven  
considered her trustworthy enough to reveal her feelings about Beast  
Boy, and in turn Starfire could do the same about hers for Robin. "Let  
us go see what Robin wants," she said, leading the way to the doorway.  
  
Robin took a moment to be sure that everyone was gathered, and then he  
spoke. "I trust everybody here has encountered little trouble finding  
rooms," he began.  
  
Cyborg jerked a thumb towards Beast Boy, a scowl on his face. "I still  
don't get why I have to share a room with Greenie here. He's getting  
fur all over the place!"  
  
"Least I don't sit in a corner plugged into a wall and hogging up all  
the outlets so that no one else can hook their video games up!" Beast  
Boy shot back.  
  
Robin rolled his eyes, then turned to Raven and Starfire. "You two?"  
He knew their personalities weren't exactly complementary and wanted  
to know if they were going to have problems being forced to share a  
room.  
  
"We're fine," said Star and Raven simultaneously.  
  
"Oh. Good," said Robin, a little surprised. "Anyway: as Kay and I were  
walking back-"  
  
"Where were you guys?" interjected Raven.  
  
"Wendy's. We were just talking. Now as I said, Kay and I are walking  
back and I bump into someone on the sidewalk. I don't think much of it  
but then I look on my cape and see a note attached."  
  
Kay held a wrinkled yell Post-It up to the light. "It reads as  
follows:" she continued. "'Titans, You can run but you can't hide  
Takahashi forever. We found the downtown condo and we will find your  
new hiding place. And when we do, you will experience the most  
humiliating defeat of your careers. That we promise. ' Signed, 'Ana  
and Karl'."  
  
"They know about the condo?" gasped Starfire. "How?"  
  
Robin shrugged. "Don't know. I'm more worried by the fact that they  
may already know where our new safe house is. Naturally, I checked for  
anyone tailing Kay and I but someone may have escaped my notice.  
Especially whoever was sneaky enough to get this note on me in the  
first place."  
  
"Do you think we need to find another place?" asked Takahashi. "We  
just got here."  
  
Robin shook his head. "No, I don't think that will be necessary.  
However, I'll need Cyborg to install some automatic machine gun linked  
sentinels on all of the entrances to the safe house and put  
surveillance cameras on a sweep pattern over a one mile radius."  
  
"Sure," Cyborg agreed.  
  
"Thanks. I don't know who these people: Ana and Karl are, but if they  
do somehow find the safe house, we'll show them a thing or two about  
humiliating defeat. 


	9. First Strike

Finally, I've managed to get a picture of Kay up on my fanart central page, so check over there if you've ever wondered how I imagined her. Drop a review. Tell me what you think of the new chapter too. Lotta stuff happening.  
  
The link to the pic of Kay is: ?pid=112421  
  
And the link to my page there is: ?op=thumbnails&artist=Godfather  
  
Starfire threw a kick at Beast Boy's head that would have knocked him silly if he hadn't transformed into a mountain goat, whose thick skull ridge, evolved for specifically for head butting and blunting head trauma, did a fine job of absorbing the blow's energy. He charged at Starfire but his opponent went airborne and out of reach.  
  
Before he knew it, starbolts were hitting the ground dangerously close to his position. He went cheetah, darting off to the side in an amazingly fast burst of speed. Then leathery wings replaced forelegs and the skeletal structure of a pterodactyl took the place of a cheetah's He too went airborne.  
  
In an aerial contest between Starfire and a Pterodactyl however, the former won hands down. True, Pterodactyls could fly in the literal sense, but they lacked maneuverability and were more adapted for flying than extended airborne bouts. Starfire was easily able to get behind Beast Boy's Pterodactyl morph and let loose a salvo of energy beams.  
  
Beast Boy went down like a sack of potatoes and converted back to normal after hitting the ground. "Okay, Okay, you won," he called to Starfire who was hovering above.  
  
"What is the magic word?" she called back down.  
  
"Aw c'mon."  
  
"Say it."  
  
"But-"  
  
"Say it!"  
  
Beast Boy groaned. "Uncle." He now regretted all those times playing thumb war with his Tamaranian teammate and forcing her to do the same thing. Now she was giving him a taste of his own medicine.  
  
Starfire smiled and floated down. "Your mistake was in the form you chose. A bird of prey would have been faster and much harder to hit."  
  
"I'll remember that."  
  
"Starfire looked around. "It appears that I have defeated everyone in this match," she said. To pass the time, the kids (minus Robin, who was inspecting Cyborg's security systems) had set up a sparring floor in an empty room in the safe house. It wasn't as good as the gym back at the Tower, but it would do. Robin won the matches all the time, but his absence had provided room for another winner, and this time it was Starfire who had managed to beat Cyborg (a tough fight) and Raven (an even tougher fight).  
  
"Nope," said Beast Boy, "You haven't quite defeated everyone. What about Kay here?"  
  
Starfire turned around. She had forgotten all about Kay, who was watching from the sidelines. "I really do not think-"  
  
"It's OK," interrupted Kay, rising to her feet. "I could use the practice."  
  
"You would not stand a chance," said Starfire, crossing her arms.  
  
"I would if you didn't use your powers."  
  
Starfire was silent, so Beast Boy filled the void, placing an arm around both girls. "So what do you two young ladies say? No powers, no weapons, nothing except fists and feet and all out mortal combat to decide the winner!"  
  
Kay removed his arm from her shoulders and looked at Starfire. "What do you say?"  
  
Maybe it was the way she said it, or perhaps the fact that most of the team was watching. Starfire didn't really know. All she knew was that she found herself nodding and the next thing she knew, she was in a martial arts stance facing Kaila, who was in a similar stance.  
  
Starfire, in her time on Earth, had been taught a few things about various martial arts, including judo, jujitsu, and karate. Jeet Kune Do had been her main focus however, because Robin had thought it a very efficient and economical technique, priding it in its simplicity. With a total of five punches and four kicks, it focused on only one thing: efficiency. Starfire had been practicing seriously for a long time now and even mastered some of the JKD techniques. However, she was not accustomed to using them in a fight. To break boards perhaps, but not in the context of outright combat. Her other powers served her just well for that purpose.  
  
Now though, denied the option of using those powers, she was facing a person who seemed to know quite a bit about fighting and had a lot of experience as well. Kay was in an interesting stance. Knees bent slightly, right arm out stretched and in knifehand position, and left fist resting comfortably against her hip.  
  
"That's an interesting position," said Kay. "Where'd you learn it?"  
  
"Robin taught it to me."  
  
"Jeet Kune Do, right? Way of the intercepting fist."  
  
Starfire nodded.  
  
Kay's attack was lightning fast, yet measured. Controlled. Starfire barely had enough to absorb on her hip the straightkick that had been intended for her stomach.  
  
"Dang," said Beast Boy. "She's good."  
  
Kay followed up with a One-Two kick combo, aimed low. Both blows hit Starfire squarely on the shin. Unlike the last time, this actually hurt. Starfire pirouetted and used her spinning momentum to power a roundhouse aimed straight for Kay's head. The girl ducked however, letting the kick pass harmlessly over her head. Starfire realized that she should have aimed lower.  
  
Kay leaped at her, much higher than Starfire would have expected, and lashed out with two airborne kicks that hammered away at Starfire's defenses, even as she blocked them with her forearm. Kay immediately turned her landing into a sweep kick that sent starfire tumbling backwards. She landed hard on her back, the air whooshing out of her, but she still managed to somersault back just in time to avoid another kick.  
  
Kay's flurry of blows drew gasps from the watching Titans as they saw Starfire being backed towards the outer edges of the ring. Kay slipped up however, attempting a flashy drill kick in midair. Starfire instinctively caught her foot between her forearms, which were raised in a blocking position, and hurled downwards.  
  
Kay hit the ground with an unceremonious thump, wincing as she rose to her feet. Her eyes flashed in annoyance.  
  
"Yaaa. Heiiiy Yuashu!" came her battle cry as she executed a jaw-dropping aerial cartwheel that placed her strategically behind Starfire. Her right arm snaked under Starfire's and she kicked the back of Star's knee making her fall to the ground. It wasn't long before Kay had Starfire in a vice-like martial arts hold that tightened each time Starfire tried to struggle.  
  
"Give up," said Kay.  
  
"No."  
  
"It'll save you a lot of trouble."  
  
Starfire kept on trying to break free.  
  
"You've already lost."  
  
Starfire refused to believe it.  
  
"Rules say that if I can keep you pinned for ten seconds, I win."  
  
With that, Kay released Starfire and stood up. "You're good," she complimented, helping Starfire to her feet. "I'm just better."  
  
What Starfire hated the most was that Kay didn't say it in a prideful or boasting way, she was simply acknowledging a fact. She was a better fighter than Starfire. Had her outclassed from the start. Starfire said nothing.  
  
"That was anticlimactic," remarked a voice from the doorway. All heads in the room turned to see Robin standing there, a bruise on his cheek.  
  
"Hey Rob." Beast Boy. "Where were ya?"  
  
"Testing out the new security features."  
  
"Whatcha think?" asked Cyborg. He out of all of them wanted to hear a good report because he had designed the features himself."  
  
"I bypassed the sentinels in ten seconds flat. The laser trip field in another fifteen seconds. I avoided detection by all of the security cameras and was able to sneak into the safe house from above in under a minute."  
  
Cyborg's face fell.  
  
"Adjust the calibration on the sentinel cannons," said Robin. Your laser field also has a lot of blind spots. Ditto for the security camera. And the access keypad needs more encryption, I was able to hack it in seconds."  
  
Cyborg's face fell even more. "It would have kept any normal person out," he complained, stressing the word normal.  
  
"Yeah? Well our enemies are anything but normal. Fix it."  
  
"Yessir," Cyborg muttered, giving a mock salute.  
  
Looking around, Robin noticed the sweat on Starfire and Kay's faces, as well as the bruises. One eyebrow went up. "I miss something?" he asked.  
  
"No," Kay said with a sideways glance at Starfire. "We were just sparring. Testing our skills in a little friendly competition."  
  
Robin didn't ask who won; he just nodded and turned around, cape whirling behind him. "I'll test the security systems again in an hour," he said. "Have the modifications ready by then, Cyborg."  
  
"Something will turn up," said Karl. Of the two, he was the least impetuous and ill-tempered, possessing a patience that his sister clearly lacked.  
  
"We should have found them by now," Ana fumed.  
  
"What about the tracers? We've planted more than enough."  
  
"They keep deactivating the instant I distribute them. The Titans must have devised a miniature EMP to disrupt any foreign circuitry, and it's impossible to follow those kids without being spotted."  
  
"Then I think its time we sent them a message."  
  
"We already did that."  
  
"Oh, nothing so prosaic. I'm thinking about a little something that's a lot more personal. Question: how do you cause an enemy to become careless?"  
  
"Give them hate, something that will cloud their mind of reason and rationality."  
  
"And how does one best accomplish this with a team as close as the Titans?"  
  
Ana smiled, his message getting through loud and clear. "Someone must die, but who?"  
  
"The leader."  
  
"No, I want to face him personally."  
  
"Very well then, the telekinetic."  
  
"Perhaps."  
  
"The changeling?"  
  
"Perfect." Ana plopped down on the couch, lips forming into a grin. "I like it. It would be easy too, since the green-skinned one ventures out to a certain vegetarian restaurant quite regularly. Additionally, his powers re quite predictable as long as you possess more than a passing familiarity with the animal kingdom."  
  
A wry smile appeared on Carl's face. "Or a lot of tranquilizer darts."  
  
"They wouldn't be hard to steal from a zoo," mused Ana.  
  
"So we do it," confirmed Karl. "Tonight."  
  
Starfire lie facedown on her bed, staring at the ceiling fan and trying to follow the progress of each individual blade. Weird, perhaps, not to mention dizzying- but it passed the time, and then, there wasn't much that did.  
  
Raven was kickboxing in the makeshift gym. Beast Boy was out, gone on a trip to his favorite restaurant, and Robin and Cyborg were fine-tuning the security systems. Starfire had no idea where Kay was and really didn't care at the moment.  
  
Her forearms still throbbed with pain from her earlier sparring session. Although she had blocked a lot of Kay's blows, getting hit on the forearms wasn't that much better than another place on the body. Even touching the sore skin induced enough pain to make her wince.  
  
Takahshi had chosen well for his head of security. Kay was smart and an excellent fighter who belonged in the ranks with Robin or Batgirl. She knew how to protect people and how to plan ahead. She was a lot like Robin, actually.  
  
Coincidentally, Robin himself walked in right when her thoughts went in the direction. The door had been ajar, but Starfire was still so startled that she jumped up, eyes going huge.  
  
"Sorry," said Robin. "Didn't mean to startle you."  
  
"It is no problem," said Starfire. She absentmindedly wondered if he could tell what she had been thinking. Just the thought however caused her face to flame with mortification.  
  
If Robin noticed this however, he didn't show it. Instead, he just leaned back against the wall and said. "Hey Star."  
  
"Hello. I thought you were working with Cyborg."  
  
"We just finished. Security systems are set to go."  
  
"Oh. Well is there anything I can do for you?"  
  
Robin took a deep breath. "I want to talk about Kay. I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I'm getting these weird vibes from you. And her. Like you have some problem with each other the rest of us don't know about. Now I don't know why that would be, but I do know that it would be a lot better of to get whatever it is settled because we aren't going to be able to function effectively as a team if we've got internal conflict. I learned that lesson when Cyborg left."  
  
Starfire said nothing.  
  
"Now this may be a little arrogant of me," said Robin. "And if so, I apologize. But does your problem with Kay have anything to do with me?"  
  
Starfire responded with another question. "Do you like Kay?"  
  
"Of course. I like all of you."  
  
"Do you like her in the romantic sense?"  
  
"Is that what this is-"  
  
"Please. Just answer."  
  
Robin heaved in a breath. "Honestly, I don't know."  
  
"How can you not know?"  
  
"I just don't. Too soon to tell."  
  
"You just recently met her."  
  
"A week is plenty of time to grow to be attracted to someone, Star. But why should it matter? I don't have to defend myself to you, Star." He sounded slightly annoyed.  
  
"You don't trust Takahashi, do you? Do not deny it, because you will just be lying."  
  
"So?"  
  
"But now you and Kay are best buddies. She is his security manager. Do you really think that she is somehow not caught up in whatever he is?"  
  
"I trust Kay."  
  
"But not Takahshi. And Kay has done no more to earn your trust than he. Yet you have a double standard. I suppose all it takes to sway you is a pair of big, shiny eyes and a pretty face."  
  
"Oh my god. You're jealous. You're jealous. I can't believe this!" Robin's voice had risen. His annoyance had become anger. "You know Star, you can be really immature sometimes. You think I'm that shallow?"  
  
"I think you are naïve and Kay is keeping you so dazzled that you cannot even see clearly. You cannot even see what's right in front of you!"  
  
"And what's that?"  
  
"That I like you. I have ever since I joined the Titans!"  
  
That shut Robin up quite nicely. He stared at Starfire through the mask, shocked. Maybe he hadn't heard right. Yes, he'd accused her of being jealous, and had at times suspected this was the case, but to hear her say it changed things more than he would have thought possible. Even if she made the admission in anger.  
  
So he just stared at her, watching as she calmed down and her breathing evened out. He hadn't really seen her angry many times before, and they'd certainly never had such an exchange. He didn't know what to do.  
  
He wouldn't get to find out right then. Raven came bursting into the room, followed by Kay and Cyborg. The urgency on all three of their faces wasn't lost on either Robin or Starfire.  
  
"Guys, we have a serious problem," said Raven. She looked like she had been crying.  
  
"What is it?" asked Robin.  
  
"Beast Boy. He was supposed to be back an hour ago. I went looking for him and found him in an alleyway."  
  
"Dead?" Robin prayed the answer would be no.  
  
"Not yet, but somebody sure did a number on him. Beat him senseless, carved him up some, and wrote a message in blood on the wall of the alley."  
  
Robin thought he was going to be sick. "Where is he now?"  
  
"In the gym. It's the only place we could put him. Cyborg has him cryogenically frozen in a sort of ice cube to prolong his life."  
  
"Good thinking Cy. We need to get him to a hospital right away."  
  
Raven shook her head. "They can't help him."  
  
"What?"  
  
Cyborg nodded. "No doctor is going to know how to treat BB's alien physiology. They could do more harm than good."  
  
"So a this point," Kay finished somberly, "It looks like he's going to die." 


	10. Revelations

AN: OK, my link in the last chapter didn't work. If you want to see the Kaila Tanaka pic, just go to the link on my author page and it should be there on my fanart central page.

Only a few more chapters togo. The end is coming. And reviews do make me write faster. **hint hint**

Raven glared at Kay. "No, he won't," she said firmly, fire in her eyes. "He'll be fine."

"There is nothing we can for him," Kay said. "Already, his cells are beginning to die. It won't be long before, even if we CAN heal him, he'll be little more than a vegetable. That kind of brain damage is irreversible."

"Cyborg, you know a bit about surgery, right," said Robin.

The big guy shook his head. "If you're asking if I can operate on him, the answer is no. I don't know much more about alien physiology than any other doctor. Besides, I'd have to do some pretty extensive internal work. I simply don't have the tools for that."

"My powers could help," suggested Raven.

"They're not precise enough," countered Kay.

"You know, I'm getting really fed up with you," Raven growled. "Why don't you write him a frickin' epitaph already, huh? If you're not going to try to help him, then just go."

"Are you always this dense, or is it just today that you've decided to ignore your brain? Your powers can't help him. It's a fact. Here in the real world, that's what we go by."

"You arrogant bi-"

"Hey!" Robin snapped. "That's enough! Both of you!" He whirled on Kay. "Kay, it can't hurt to try. If we do nothing, then he's going to die for sure. As you yourself said, 'It's a fact'."

Having her own words turned back on her didn't make Kay very happy, but she backed down, throwing her hands in the air. "Fine. If you want to try it, try it."

Robin nodded. "Raven's powers may come in handy. Cy, I need you to unfreeze Beast Boy, but only after you and Raven have prepared. From what I know of the process, you'll be running on borrowed time."

"And the rest of us?" asked Starfire.

"We stay posted by Takahashi round the clock. No one leaves the safe house without backup. No exception. These two psychos have targeted us now, and we can't take any chances."

"They're also willing to play dirty," Kay added. She reached inside her pocket, fishing out two black cylinders. "We found these in his shoulder." She tossed them to Robin who caught them deftly as they sailed through the air.

He looked at them, holding them up to the light for a second. "Tranquilizers."

"Potent ones too. Three times the acetophenzine dosage in each tube. Each one of these could knock a grizzly bear silly."

"I want find them," Robin said in a dark tone. "And then I want to show them what happens when you mess with a Titan. That said, any suggestions on how to find them?"

"No. Actually-"

"Why not do a search on their fingerprints?" asked Starfire. She had been silent throughout the entire conversation.

"That's silly. Where would we get a sample from." Said Kay dismissively.

Starfire took one of the tranquilizers out of Robin's hand. "We could try these."

Ana carefully fingered the long red scars that ran down the left side of her face, eyes glowing with rage. When she had first received the injury, the scars had been open gashes that had rendered her nearly unrecognizable. Thanks to her healing abilities, they were little more than red lines and would fade away completely by a weeks time.

Beast boy had certainly proved more resilient than she'd imagined. They had ambushed him perfectly, but he'd displayed the rather animalistic tendency of gaining even more strength when backed into the proverbial corner. Some of his morphs had been quite difficult to deal with, especially the prehistoric ones. Contrary to popular belief, T-Rex wasn't the only formidable fighter in earth's primordial past.

In the end, combination of exhaustion and tranquilizers proved too much for Beast Boy. They had made sure that he was dead, or as close to dead as possible, and then left him in the alley.

She had several other scars and wounds, and she hated Beast Boy and the other Teen Titans al the more for it. Her beauty, more precious to her than anything, had been marred by that green-skinned freak. That would never happen again.

"Relax," said Karl, "It'll be gone in a few days." He too sported physical evidence of the fight with beast in the form of a long slash running down from his forehead, through his left eye, and down his cheek. He could still see as the talon had not hit the actual eye. Furthermore, he rather liked the scar, which made him look more roguish in his opinion.

"We have depleted their team by a fifth, not to mention instilled fear and anger in them. They will be careless adversaries, especially if we can continue to catch them alone."

"That won't happen anymore. Weak, they may be. But stupidity is not an attribute I'm going to start relying on."

"We can handle them as a team."

"We barely took care of the changeling."

"Ah," said Karl, "But that was because we underestimated him. We will not do so with the Titans. Especially since we have so much more to lose."

Without Vergil, Kay was not as confident as she had been when she started the job. Her boss had not accompanied them to the safe house, and so she was officially in charge of Takahashi's security ( a role she shared with Robin of course). The responsibility was beginning to way heavily. She was only sixteen and although her combat skills were formidable if not legendary, she had never had to protect Takahashi from such a powerful foe.

She had no powers, a fact that normally would never have bothered her. However, being in the presence of teens her age who could turn into prehistoric Mastodons or generate destructive bolts of energy had driven the reality home to her. More than once, she wondered if she was out of her league.

There was always Robin of course. Perhaps part of the reason she felt so drawn to him was that he was like her. He had no superhuman abilities to speak of, but he had fashioned himself into a trained fighter like she had. His skills were amazing. Olympian. Surpassing even hers, as hard as it was on her ego to admit it. That was special.

Nevertheless, their enemy had managed to strike down one of their own. Nearly killing him. Whether they had succeeded was now being resolved by Cyborg and Raven who were working furiously to save Beast Boy. Looking back on her own words, she realized why Raven had responded the way she had, and grudgingly admitted to herself that the other girl had been right. If it were Robin instead of Beast Boy in the coma, Kay had no doubt that she would be desperately trying to save him, not giving up hope until his last dying breath.

It was thoughts like these that were passing through Kay's mind when Takahashi came to sit across from her on the semi-circular couch.

"Mr. Takahashi!" Kay had been startled.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

He hadn't been seen much as of late, staying in his room either on his computer or his phone most of the time. He looked weary. Haggard. It wasn't very uplifting for Kay.

"Did you need something, Mr. Takahashi?"

"Yes. Or rather, I wanted to tell you something."

"About what?"

"Rupert Thorne."

Kay's reaction was surprising. Her eyes searched Takahashi's face, but she didn't say a word for a few moments. In her mind, she was praying that he wasn't about to tell her what she thought she was going to.

"Let me guess," she said slowly. "You've had some sort of connection with Rupert Thorne that you kept secret from the rest of us."

If he was shocked by her guess, he certainly didn't show it. "Correct," he said. "I won't ask how you knew, curious as I am."

Kay did not look amused. "I had no idea, sir. I mean-how-how could you lie to me?"

"It was necessary. Then. Now, however, it is best that you know the truth."

"We put our lives on the line to protect you, sir. Beast Boy nearly died for God's sakes! And you couldn't even give us the decency of telling us the truth?

"It was a mistake-"

"You got that right. Why the heck would you even associate with a lowlife like Thorne?"

"It wasn't that I associated with him. It's that I took something from him."

"And now he wants it back."

"Exactly."

"What was it?"

"A relic of sorts."

"How valuable?"

"One hundred dollars, give or take. On the collector's market that it. It has much more value to those who know its secret."

"Like you?"

"Like me."

"Ah, I see. And what exactly is this secret?"

"It prolongs youth."

"Excuse me."

"It prolongs youthfulness. You want to avoid old age; this thing will give you youthfulness. For a price."

"And what is that?"

"Every five hundred years, the ritual must be repeated or else the person who used it will die, aging all of the years that they skipped in seconds. It's a gruesome experience. I've only seen it once and I don't care to see it again." Up until recently, it was in the Egyptian governments possession, one of a hundred items in one of the museums."

"And then?"

"And then Thorne stole it. I have no idea how he knew about its secret, but he found out somehow. He hired mercenaries to rob the museum. Of course, the Egyptian authorities were not that inclined to pursue the matter since the only item missing wasn't that valuable anyway . . .or so they thought.

"Thorne had beat me to the punch. Although I was not going to steal the artifact, I had intended to purchase it, and now that was impossible."

"Why did you want it?"

"Profit. Imagine the result if I could develop the technology to give prolonged, perhaps even eternal youth. It would revolutionize the world. I would be famous. The entire corporation would gain unimaginable power."

"So greed, in other words."

Takahashi shrugged. "Call it that if you wish. I had been watching Thorne for quite some time. I knew he had it and I knew where he kept it. My job was made easier by the fact that he thought no one knew he had it. It was child's play for my own mercenaries to snatch it from right under his nose."

"Had he already used it?"

"No. The artifact itself gives no clue as to how the proper ritual is to be initiated. The language is meaningless form our syntactical standpoint. The rules that govern our language and communication do not apply here. He couldn't even begin to translate the inscriptions, much less initiate the ritual. Not that I've had better luck, mind you."

"So he stole it from a museum and you stole it from him, pissing him off in the process. Now he wants your head and has been ordering raids of your facilities and attacks on your life. I leave anything out?"

"No, you pretty much covered all the bases."

Kay didn't say anything for a moment. She didn't know whether she felt more hurt or angry or disappointed. Takahshi had broken the law and lied to cover it up. Lied to the very people risking their lives to protect him. All for money and power.

"Robin tried to tell me," she said finally.

"He's a smart kid."

Kay said nothing.

"Kay, I know I screwed up-"

"Big time," the girl interjected bitterly.

"Yes. Big time. However, I need to know that ultimately, your loyalty is with me and the company."

"Honestly Mr. Takahshi, I'm not sure that I'm going to be with the company for much longer."

"Hear me out. Please. I know I made a mistake, but don't forget Kay that it was I who put you where you are today. Were it not for me, you would still be another homeless girl who would have eventually turned to drugs or prostitution or god knows what, given your status. You would have been a statistic."

"Is that supposed to make me feel remotely better?" Kay asked sharply.

"I took you out of that though," continued Takahashi, ignoring the comment. "I should think that would count for something."

"Beast Boy could die thanks to you."

"He knew the risks-"

"No he didn't!" Kaila was angry now. "No one, not them and sure a hell not me knew the risks!" You screwed up and you invoked the wrath of a crime lord who now has everything to lose by letting you live. We had no idea that was the case!"

"All I ask is that you keep this information between you and I."

"Unacceptable. The Titans deserve to know."

"It won't give them an edge they didn't already have, Kaila. Right now, spreading this information would be nothing but detrimental to their ability to protect me. Beast Boy's situation has given them an accurate assessment of the enemy already."

Kay had to admit to herself that he was right. Yeah, Takahashi had done wrong, but that was the least of their concerns right then and having the Titans ticked at Takahashi (no matter how entitled they were to feel that way) would not help defeat Thorne or the deadly twins who'd beaten the crap out of Beast Boy.

"This artifact, what was it exactly?" asked Kay.

"A gourd."

"A . . .what?"

"Gourd. It's a cup. This one of course has magical properties, but that is what it is, in essence."

"I see." Kaila stood up. "I won't tell them," she said. "Yet. Once this is all over . . .it'll be a completely different story, sir." The word 'sir' was laced with sarcasm.

Nonplussed, Takahashi stood as well. "Fair enough."

Raven left the makeshift operating room discouraged. Beast Boy was still in a coma. He was better, there was no doubt of that. However, that didn't negate the fact that he hadn't regained consciousness. Of all the Titans, he possessed the highest recuperative abilities, but his attackers had done quite a number on him.

"How is he?" It was Kay, waiting outside the doorway. Raven ignored her, purposely avoiding looking at the girl.

"Listen, Raven."

No answer.

"Look, my attitude earlier was crap, OK. I'm sorry."

"Whatever," said Raven. With that, she continued walking.


	11. We've found them

_Keep your emotions in check_

_Never let them out, hold them on the tightest leash you can. It is the only way to control your powers._

_Your abilities_

_Your telekinesis_

_Inextricably linked, they are, with your feelings. _

Raven knew all of this. Had known it for years. Had managed to abide by it for years.

Until now.

She was seated at Beast Boy's bedside. He had tubes coming from his nostrils and both arms. It was no hoispital room but Cyborg had at least been able to provide an IV of sorts.

Beast Boy's normally robust green color had paled. Dulled. Although his eyes were open, they were lifeless and inanimate, fixed upward on the ceiling.

Seeing him like this made her want to cry. It literally felt like she was being torn in two. She couldn't understand how this . . .emotion could be so powerful, but it was. It was a pain that bordered on the physical. There was so much regret. So much that she wished she had told him.

Now, it looked like it would be too late. Her and Cyborg's efforts had been valiant and were it not or them, Beast Boy would have long since been dead.

_Pain is necessary. Pain is what gives life meaning. Without pain, there would be no joy because the disparity between pain and joy would_ _not exist_.

They words of some great philosopher or another. One of many men who tried to explain the world in a way that they could cope with it.

Raven disagreed. Pain was pain. There was nothing good about it. Nothing.

A tear fell. She hadn't even been aware of its formation, but there it was. Falling down until it plopped on Beast Boy's lifeless hand. She put his hand in hers, stroking the spot where the tear had fallen with her thumb.

With a creak, the door behind her opened Starfire walked in. "How is he?" the Tamaranian girl asked. Instead of her normal costume, she simply wore purple sweatpants and a smiley face halter top.

"Living, for which I suppose I should be glad."

"Do you wish we had never taken the job?" asked Starfire.

"Yes. No amount of money is worth this." She looked up at Star. "I guess you were right in having reservations."

"To be truthful, I do not think that refusing the offer would have helped matters?"

This surprised Raven. "Why?"

"These people, Rupert Thorne, his mercenaries, Ana and Karl, they would still be out there. They would still be able to do this to other people with no one to stop them It would only have been a matter of time before we had to face them. Better now than later."

"We still don't know what their powers are, do we?"

"No."

"Knowing Robin, he probably has an idea. Where is he, by the way?"

"I am sure Kay would know." The way Starfire said it startled Raven. She peered closer at her teammate.

"What happened?"

"Nothing. Nothing happened."

"You and Robin had a fight, didn't you?"

Some people thought Raven might have telepathic powers in tandem with the telekinetic ones. No one had asked her. Starfire certainly didn't know, but then she also wondered how Raven had managed to grasp the situation so accurately. "It was not a fight."

"Close enough though, wasn't it. Come on, tell me what happened."

"There is nothing to tell." The lie was plain on Starfire's place even as she made the statement.

"We've already been down this path. C'mon. Did you tell him how you feel? He tell you something? What?"

"I do not know. We were . . .interrupted."

"By what?"

"You. We were talking and then you burst in, delivering the news about Beast Boy."

"Oh."

Starfire leaned against the wall. "Perhaps it is best you did. He-he cares for Kay."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do. They have so much in common, Raven. I am . . ." Starfire searched for the right phrase. "Out of my league."

Raven sighed. "Aren't we all?"

"Pardon."

The purple-haired girl shrugged. "These twins or whatever. They've made this personal. I mean, no mercenary would have attacked Beast Boy like that. They would have gone straight for the target, ignoring anyone else unless they got in the way. Beast Boy was just out for a veggie burger. And those . . ._bastards _attacked him anyway. Not even in a fair fight, they had to pump him full of tranquilizer fluid.

"Whoever these guys are, they've probably come the closest anyone has to killing a member of the Titans. May end up succeeding, with Beast Boy's condition."

"Are you scared?"

Raven contemplated this. "No, I'm not. I probably should be at least worried. But right now, I'm just angry. Really, really angry. I _want _to fight them. I want a battle. I want so badly to look down on their lifeless bodies like I've had to look down at Beast Boy's."

The rage beneath the words was a palpable, almost visible entity. It was creeping out from the rigid, emotionless mask that Raven held. Obviously, she cared much more for Beast Boy than she had ever let on.

Feeling like an intruder, Starfire pushed off from the wall. "I should probably leave you two alone."

"That's not-"Raven began to protest, but Starfire had already backed out, closing the door behind her.

"-Necessary." Unbidden, more tears began to flow.

Spencer was toast.

Robin threw a left jab that mashed his face in. He elbowed him in the side of the head and then, using the momentum from the spin, finished off the combo with a high roundhouse that spun Spencer around three hundred and sixty degrees. Six quick-succession jabs doubled Spencer over, only to have Robin knee him violently in the chin, snapping his head back. Robin easily maneuvered behind him, swung his right arm under his chin, and broke hi neck in a swift and clean move, an audible snap reverberating throughout the room.

Spencer, the sparring dummy, fell to the ground, his head twisted at an impossible angle.

"This what you do whenever you come down here?" asked Kay from the doorway. She was dressed in a pair of beige cargo pants and a Charlie's Angels T-shirt. She had two steaming mugs of hot chocolate, one in each hand. Her hair was tied up in a bun, twin chopsticks helping to keep it in place. "Beat the crap out of wooden dummies?"

"Beats doing nothing,' said Robin.

Kay nodded, observing him from where she stood. Although he still wore the mask, his cape and costume were folded neatly in the corner. He was shirtless and it was easy to tell he had been working out for quite some time because of the rivulets of sweat that ran down his torso.

His loose, black pants and karate shoes reminded Kay of old Bruce Lee movies she used to watch. He was by no means buff, but he was muscular in a lean, powerful sort of way. He could inflict lots of damage, even if he couldn't bench press two-fifty. She liked that.

Holding out one of the mugs, she asked, "want some hot chocolate."

Robin nodded, walking over and taking the preferred cup. "How'd you know I liked hot chocolate?"

"Everybody likes hot chocolate."

"Can't argue with that." He took a sip. "Yum."

"Thanks." Kay took a sip of her own steaming liquid and then set her mug down. "Mind if I practice with you?" she asked.

"You mean spar?"

"I mean spar," she confirmed.

Robin grinned. "I don't know, I saw you earlier. I'm worried I'll get my butt kicked."

Kay smiled back knowingly. "Somehow I doubt that."

Robin shrugged. "I don't mind." He set his mug down next to hers and assumed a relaxed martial arts stance, resting lightly on the balls of his feet.

Kay nodded and adopted a crane position, slowly circling Robin. If his eyes were following her, she couldn't tell because of the mask.

She threw an almost playful kick, one that Robin sidestepped easily. She executed a high close-fisted strike that Robin deflected off course easily with a small sweep of his hand.

She jumped, kicking twice in midair. Robin backed off enough to completely avoid the first one. The second one he blocked with a defensive kick of his own, causing Kay to land on only one foot. It was child's play to sweep that foot out from under her, causing Kay to fall squarely on her rump.

Gingerly, she rose to her feet, a smile on her face. "That was good," she said in admiration.

"Thank you."

Kay resumed her stance and wasted no time in trying again, this time a little more serious in her efforts to hit Robin. They should have called him Viper, she thought as a result of the speed in which he evaded and counterattacked. Each of her attempted blows was either blocked, diverted, missed outright, or worse, turned against her. Frustrated after five minutes of whirlwind sparring, she lashed out with a vicious back kick, putting al of her strength and balance into that one blow.

Had it connected, Robin would probably have gone down like Spencer. Of course, by the time it reached the space Robin's head was occupying, he wasn't there anymore. Standing in such an awkard position, all Robin had to do was gently shove her to send her tumbling to the ground once more.

Clothes damp with sweat, Kay didn't immediately get up. She still had to catch her breath and it was the second time she'd fallen on her butt in the space of a few minutes.

Robin walked over and offered a hand to help her up. "You OK?"

"Yeah." Kay took the hand. And then yanked, a move even Robin hadn't expected. He fell tumbling down on top of her.

He blinked. "No fair."

She didn't look apologetic. "Neither is this." She kissed him, without warning. His eyes (even through the mask) went wide. His stance relaxed.

Giving Kay the opportunity to flip him over so that she was on top of him. She pulled back and grinned devilishly. "One, two, three. I grounded you, so . . .it looks like I win."

"So now I guess you get to crush the air out of me."

Kay's eyebrows shot up. "Oh. Sorry." She rolled to the side, assuming a sitting position so that she was sitting beside Robin.

"Better?"

"Yeah."

"I'd heard you were good. At fighting, I mean."

"Didn't live up to your expectations?"

"You surpassed them."

"I'm no superman. Or even Batman. I could easily name off a dozen people who are far better than me."

"How'd you get to be as good as you are though?" inquired Kay, sitting up so she could look at him easier.

"I had a heckuva teacher, for one. I guess the rest was natural skill. I was raised in the circus, doing stunts on the trapeze and high wire by six years old. That helped a lot with the balance and control. Then my parents died. Murder. I vowed I would do my best to make sure that people like those that killed my parents were stopped. That provided the motivation and discipline."

"That it?"

"No, but if I told you any more, you'd probably be able to figure out my identity with nothing more than a quick Google search."

"Would that be such a bad thing?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because, my two identities, the two different people I am, are completely segregated. I can't afford to have it any other way, or else I involve those around me as a civilian in the stuff I have to deal with as a crime fighter."

"I fight crime," said Kay. "Sort of anyway. I don't wear a mask."

Robin was silent for a long time. "There was once this guy," he said. "His name was Bane. Real big guy, muscles on top of muscles. He could play catch with a Volvo practically he was so strong.

"Like a lot of people who discover power, he was corrupted by it. He turned to crime. Petty stuff at first, but then it escalated. Pretty soon, he was committing serious crimes. He and Batman had a few run-ins. Batman was finally able to beat him though, and off Bane went to jail.

"He got out though, emerging stronger than ever. And he was armed with a vital secret: Batman's identity. He hurt some people close to Batman real bad, people who weren't even involved in his vigilante life. Bane came close to killing him in his own home."

"And so from then on, maintaining a secret identity was like, really important to you, huh."

"Yeah. Learn from other's mistakes, or something like that."

"I don't mind," she said. "About the whole secret identity thing. Doesn't make me like you any less."

"Oh," was the only thing robin could think to say. He liked Kay and the feeling was obviously reciprocated, but he wasn't sure how much wanted to encourage her, if at all. Especially this early on.

Kay, sensing his reticence, backed off slightly. There was unspoken disappointment in her eyes, but she shared none of it. Instead, she stood up. "Tell me Robin, have you ever fired a gun?"

"Once or twice. Guns never were my style."

"They can save your life is used properly," said Kay. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a Glock .23 handgun plus a clip. Walking over to Spencer, she uprighted the dummy and then took a good twenty steps backward in the spacious room. She popped the clip in, cocked the handgun, assumed a firing stance, and drilled a bullet right between Spencer's eyes. In a one-handed shot.

"That was good," said Robin, his voice not quite conveying his surprise. It was ovbvious that Kay was quite proficient with firearms. "I didn't know you had a gun on you."

"I carry one wherever I go. Tai Chi Quan is nice, but it won't put someone out from thirty feet." She walked behind him and placed the gun in his gloved hand. "You try."

"We've found them," said Karl.

"Who? You found who?" His sister asked. Her speech was slightly slurred, due in part to the large amount of alcohol she had just consumed. Being a near-immortal and possessing magical abilities that were second to none didn't seem to restrain the human weakness of alcholism. Not for her anyway.

A sigh of longsuffering. "The Titans."

"How?"

"One of our tracers. Just started broadcasting again."

"You're kidding."

Karl turned the laptop he was working on so that his sister, slouched on a nearby couch, could see it. A red dot was blinking on the map of Gotham on the screen."

"It's one of our tracers."

"Yes, that's what I just said."

"But I thought they'd all shorted out."

"Apparently not. The Titans missed one, and its broadcasting a signal. Pretty dang strong one at that."

"Where's it coming from?"

Corner of Maple and Juneau. There a deli and a car wash right there."

"I know. I've been there. There's nothing even resembling a secret base."

"You're right. Not aboveground anyway."

Drunk as she was, even Ana couldn't miss the obvious. "Its an underground base! No wonder we couldn't find them."

"Well that's about to change." He smiled. "Isn't it."


	12. More Revelations the really short chap

"I have some information on Ana and Karl, the two persons responsible for Beast Boy's death," said Takashi.

"He's not dead yet," corrected Kay. They were sitting at a card table in his room, his laptop on the surface.

"Right. Anyway, here's some pics of them, collected from various international agencies, most from Interpol."

Kari craned her head to look at the screen. She frowned. Somehow, she hadn't expected the mercenaries to be so . . ._young_. There were two pictures, both obviously taken without the twins' knowledge. One was of them getting out of a car, the other an aerial view of the two sitting down at a restaurant. "These are the ones responsible." It was part question part statement.

"Yep, active international terrorists since before the fifties."

"Fifties? The people in this picture are twenty tops. No way they were alive back then."

A shrug. "I'm just telling you what they know."

"How have they managed to operate without getting caught for so long?"

"Raw power. One repot says the girl once picked up a Plymouth-"

"The car?"

"Yeah. A Plymouth voyager. Threw it fifteen meters into a pursuing police van. Ten people were killed in the resulting explosion. Needless to say, she and her brother got away."

"They used tranquilizers on Beast Boy."

"And if I were you, I wouldn't take that to mean that they wouldn't have been able to handle him without the tranquilizers. They seem pretty powerful in their own right."

Kay swore. That was exactly what she didn't need to hear. **Question**: How strong did you have to be to toss a minivan like a football. **Answer**: really, really, strong.

Takahashi stood, closing the laptop. "I have an errand to run," he announced. "Think about what I told you, and remember what I've always said."

"Never underestimate those who have nothing to lose."

"Precisely. Because believe me, Kaila. These two have absolutely nothing to lose." He gave curt nod, and then walked out of the room.

Kay sat still for a moment, pondering what these new revelations met, and then rose to walk out into the hallway. Once outside, she closed the door behind her.

And came face to face with Starfire. The Tamaranian girl must have been there all along. Right outside of the room. Takahashi hadn't noticed when he'd left because the door had kept her hidden.

"Starfire!" gasped Kay. "What are you doing here."

"I heard everything." Starfire's green eyes flashed with fury.

"No, you didn't."

"Yes I did! I know about your boss and the relic and Rupert Thorne, Kay."

"How long have you been standing there?"

Starfire crossed her arms. "Long enough. I _knew_ you could not be trusted! I knew-"

"Wait a minute." Now Kay was angry too. "_I_ couldn't be trusted?! You were _spying_ on me you little sneak. You had no right-"

Starfire stepped closer so that she was in Kay's face. She didn't think she'd ever seen the Tamaranian girl more ticked off. "I had every right Kay! You went behind our backs. It's your fault that Beast Boy is barely alive!"

"Back off!" Kay did something very stupid. She shoved a P,O.'d Tamaranian. And not just any shove, but the kind that sent Starfire slamming back into the opposite wall.

Starfire retaliated before Kay could even get her bearings, throwing a solid punch that connected cleanly with Kay's eye. It was definitely not a sparring punch.

Kay blocked Starfire's next punch and snap kicked her the toe of her shoe slamming into the tip of Starfire's chin. The alien girl's head snapped back and she stumbled. Kay wasn't through though. She punched Starfire twice in the stomach. Again, not sparring punches. She grabbed Starfire's arm, kicked her leg out from under her, and (using a particularly effective judo technique) threw Starfire at the wall. The impact came with a sickening thud.

Kay touched a hand to her eye. It was swollen and no doubt black and blue by now. As for Starfire, her eyes were . . .glowing green. Kay had only seen that twice before, and both times it was right before Starfir . . .

Kay didn't get to finish the thought. Twin starbolts literally picked her up off her feet and deposited her a god seven meters away. Kay had never been hit by a starbolt before. Sure, she'd seen it happen, but she'd never been on the receiving end. It was _not_ a pleasant experience.

"What the heck is going on here?!" The voice belonged to Cyborg who, along with Robin and Raven had just entered the hallway. "Sounds like y'all fightin' a _war_ or something."

"Explain," snapped Robin to both girls. "Now."

Kay slowly managed to get back to her feet, her chest aching and wisps of smoke still wafting up the front of her singed shirt. She could see that Starfire too was a bit out of it. _Good_, she thought.

"Kay and Takahashi have been hiding something," Starfire said calmly.

"What are you talking about?" asked Robin.

"Don't ask her, she doesn't even _know!" s_napped Kay. She turned to Robin, took a deep breath, and told him everything.

AN/: Yeah, I know it's a short chapter but I'm suffering writer's block. Ugh. Trust me, it sucks eggs.

Anywho, R&R por favor


	13. A Raven's Tears

Robin wouldn't speak to her. No one would, but it was Robin that hurt most. To compound her sudden ostricization, Takahashi was gone, which didn't exactly help her position.

Kay sat in her quarters absentmindedly toying with her Sig Sauer handgun. This whole thing was a mess and the twins were variables in the equation she didn't need. So was Takahashi being AWOL. How could she protect him if she didn't even know where he was?

She sighed and rolled over. She at least had the answer to one of her problems. Unbeknownst to Takahshi, the diamond-studded Rolex she'd gotten him for his birthday was outfitted with a tiny microchip beacon that could broadcast his location to her GPS anywhere within the city limits. She would have to go find him, perhaps not even with the Titans knowledge. They probably wouldn't even care if she left or not.

She reached over to her bedside desk and wrote a quick note to the others. Then she got up, stretched and opened her closet, pulling out a briefcase and a duffel bag. She unzipped the bag quickly, pulling out its contents, which happened to be custom body armor. A black, skintight, shadowsuit composed of titanium alloy weave started the ensemble. The nanotechnology on which it was based allowed it to read and properly react to the wearer's body temperature, heart rate, etc. It could also mask her body completely, making her invisible in the dark even to those with night vision equipment The suit was virtually impossible to cut or tear given the interlocking fibers of which it was made. That was good news in a knife fight, but the impact of a bullet would be deadly, even if it didn't penetrate. Thus the polycarbonate armor that went on over the shadowsuit: a helmet, shoulder and forearm plates, a breastplate, and several interlocking pieces for the legs The additional armor was not bulky, but it could stop most handgun rounds and would offer serious protection against debris or shrapnel. He helmet was outfitted with a fold-down visor that could offer binocular, infrared, and ultraviolet vision, as well as a crosshair system that interacted with her firearms.

That was where the briefcase came in. Once she had finished putting on her armor, she laid out the contents of the briefcase. Two concussion grenades, two fragmentation grenades, and two flash grenades, a total of six. These she hooked onto the belt extension of her armor. Next was a Ka-Bar fighting knife, laser-sharpened with a blade that could slice through a six-inch steel beam like hot butter. She'd used it once before, and as a result the man she'd been fighting could only count to six on his fingers.

That left her beam rifle, HK-33 assault rifle, Beretta, and .44 Magnum. Her armor was the only reason that she, experienced as she was, could handle weapons that packed so much recoil. The assault rifle, Magnum, and Beretta each had their own place, handguns in their holsters and the assault rifle slung over her back. The beam rifle was a new piece of technology. Weighing five pounds, it was extremely lightweight with a skeletal frame that could luckily fold up into a compact form that could be stored nearly anywhere. The reason it could be so small was that it fired concentrated beams of energy rather than bullets or projectiles. It was a versatile weapon that on its lowest setting would give its victim a mild burn and on its highest could flash-fry an oak tree. She had a feeling it would come in handy.

Giving her armor and a equipment a double check, Kaila turned out the lights, closed the door and walked out into the hallway, half expecting to see Starfire hiding behind the door again. The hallway was empty though, and with a deep breath, Kaila strode towards the makeshift garage containing Takahashi's sleek new Lexus and Two motorcycles. One belonging to Kaila, the other to Robin. Hopping on hers, Kaila keyed the ignition and roared off, leaving the safe house and garage in her wake.

Rupert Thorne sat in his study, anxiously watching the large Grandfather clock as it ticked. The only source of light was the fireplace, whose flickering flames cast an orange glow across the room. Julia stood dutifully in the corner of the room. Her face was emotionless but Thorne knew she was seething inside at being bested in combat by Karl and Ana.

Karl and Ana. He was growing impatient with those two. They had yet to deliver any news, which left him in an uncomfortable position. He needed Takahashi dead in order to be able to move on, reclaim his property, and leave this whole sordid mess behind.

Meanwhile, outside, Takahashi crept up to the front gate of Thorne's headquarters, contemplating how exactly he could pull this ridiculous plan. He had exactly one firearm, an MP5-K, against at least a dozen similarly armed guards, two of whom were currently patrolling the grounds. He would be within their line of sight once they rounded the brick wall in about five seconds, so he would have to act now.

Picking up a hefty, tennis ball-sized stone, Takahashi hurled his makeshift projectile into the surrounding trees. It was the oldest trick in the book, but these two fell for it, instantly going over to check where they'd heard the stone strike tree.

Takahashi crept up behind them, praying he still had skills he hadn't used in over a decade. Then he struck. His first blow, a knuckle strike, slammed down onto a nerve cluster on the back of the first guards neck. Before he even hit the ground, Takashi launched off of his left foot, going airborne and twisting sharply in midair, foot snapping forward. His heel, loaded with centrifugal and muscular force, struck the guard squarely on the temple. He joined his colleague on the ground.

The entire thing had taken less than seven seconds. He could have done it in half the time a decade ago, but those days were long gone. He would simply have to work with what he had.

He touched the firearm slung across his back, glad he hadn't had to use it. There was only one person he intended to kill tonight.

Rupert Thorne.

* * *

"I thought you had a tracer on her motorcycle," Robin scowled at Cyborg.

"I did."

"Then why can't you locate her?" Robin demanded.

Cyborg haplessly shrugged. "Kay's not an idiot, Robin. If she wanted to get away, she would have been able to locate and disable whatever we tried to track her with."

Robin continued pacing in the makeshift meeting room. "Why would she leave, though?" he wondered aloud.

Cyborg jerked a thumb at Starfire's room down the hallway. "Gee, I wonder. Seriously though, if what Starfire said is true, it means-"

"Nothing. Whatever Takahashi did, Kaila was not a willing participant."

"Dude, she knew the guy wasn't on the level with us and didn't say a word."

"That's because he's her boss. Regardless, it doesn't change much. Takahashi's still missing the Twins from Hell are still out there. That's what we need to focus on."

Cyborg frowned "Y'know Robin, if I didn't know better, I'd say you're letting you feelings for her affect you judgement."

"Well I guess it's a good thing you do know better," Robin said coolly. "Cause that's absolutely ridiculous."

Cyborg gave a nonchalant shrug. "I only call 'em like I see 'em, man."

"Then you're seeing wrong."

"Whatever. Just think about it. In the meantime, there are some security upgrades with my name on them."

Beast Boy felt a drop of moisture on his face. Then another one. Was it raining? Did it rain in heaven? Maybe it was holy water.

Or maybe he'd gone to the other place, since he'd definitely done some nono things before. Thought about them, anyway. Was that bad too? It had been a long time since Sunday and his brain, fuzzy and confused, was randomly accessing pictures and images. He couldn't grasp one topic for any length of time.

There was one thing he was sure of though. He was dead. Had to be. Those psycho blondes had beaten the living crap out of him and then some. All those boken bones, torn ligaments, ruptured veins . . .he had to be dead.

A face came into view just then. Very beautiful. He tried to say so, but the effort came out only as a barely perceptible whisper. God, this girl was beautiful. Maybe this was heaven and she was an angel.

No, that wasn't it. This was no angel. In fact, as he overcame his confusion with clear willpower, he realized there was something awfully familiar about her. . .

"R-raven?" he croaked, mustering up all of the energy he could. Raven whirled back around to face him, hope in her eyes.

"Beast Boy?" She was a his bedside in an instant, already looking over at Cyborg's makeshift vitality indicator. Sure enough, there was a slow but steady spike.

"That you, Raven?" he mumbled again, voice slurred.

"Yes, yes it's me," she answered excitedly, breaking out into a rare, full-fledged grin. "Cyborg!" she yelled. "I think the patient's waking up."

"Hey Raven," Beast Boy went on as if he hadn't even heard her. Perhaps he hadn't. "Thought you looked . . ." he let out a small wheezing sound. "Familiar."

"Mmm-hmmm." Raven didn't trust herself to speak.

". . .Pretty hot when you smile," he continued, voice fading. "Should . . .do it more often." With that, his body went limp and he fell into a deep sleep, vitals still improving.

Cyborg clanked in just then, taking a quick assessment of the surroundings and Beast Boy's vitals. "Well whaddya know about that," he said grinning. "Looks like our resident vegan's gonna make it after-hey, are you crying Raven?"

The telekinetic girl shook her head vehemently. "No, something must have gotten in my eye."

"You feel like keeping an eye on BB while I go tell the others?" asked Cyborg.

Raven shook her head. "No, she said sincerely, still struggling to keep back what felt suspiciously like tears. "Not at all."

* * *

Outside of the safe house, two figures, one male and one female, sat inside of a Starbucks café.

"There's a cavity in the mains and gas lines that run underground right beneath our feet," said the male, a blond, as he sipped on a cappuccino. "Its them."

"What are we waiting for then?" the girl, also a blond, asked.

"We're waiting for me to finish my beverage," replied Karl evenly. "I did pay three dollars for it, after all."

"Fine. Waste time. I'm attacking within the hour though. With or without you."

Karl nodded. "All in good time, sister. All in good time."


	14. The Kiss ooooh

"You certainly look happy," commented Starfire as Raven fussed over herself in the mirror, humming a tune that only she seemed to know.

"What was that?" Raven asked. "I didn't catch it." She was busy altering her hair, testing to see what it would look like in various styles.

"I said you look very happy," Starfire repeated, getting up off her own bed to join her friend in the mirror. "And I've never seen you so concerned with how you look."

"Maybe I didn't care what anyone thought of them before," said Raven. She pulled her hair back into a makeshift ponytail. "What do you think?"

"It looks fine," said Starfire, still surprised at the sudden change that had overcome Raven it was like she was a completely new person. "Now tell me what happened."

"Nothing."

"Its Beast Boy, isn't it?"

"You ask too many questions," deflected Raven. "Now where's that clasp, I had it just a moment ago."

"Did he ask you out on a date?" Starfire asked, ignoring Raven's remark.

"No. Its just that he's awake now and I want to look my best when I see him again." Raven sighed, a little bit of her old inflection slipping back into her voice. "He almost died, and . . .well, there's a lot of things that I would have wanted to say to him or experience with him that I wouldn't have been able to. I have a second chance now, you know."

Starfire nodded. She was truly happy for her friend, but it was impossible not to feel the smallest pang of jealousy that Raven was on her way to realizing her own relationship while Robin was receding farther and farther out of her reach and into Kaila Tanaka's

Ironically, at that very moment Robin came bursting into the room. The fact that he hadn't knocked first coupled with the worried expression on his face was an instant clue that something was wrong.

"Hey," said Raven. "Whats up."

Robin was momentarily dumbfounded. Was that makeup Raven was wearing? And since when did she talk like that? His gaze traveled to Starfire who, despite having a complete lack of makeup or other accessories, still looked beautiful.

"Robin?" Starfire prodded.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Sorry. I was just wondering if either of you had seen Kay."

"Nope," said Raven. "I've been with Beast Boy."

Starfire too shook her head. "No. Why?"

Robin hesitated. "Well, uh, its possible that she sneak .. . snuck. . . .whatever, off.

Starfire arched an eyebrow. "So both she and Takahashi have disappeared," she said.

Robin nodded, running a hand nervously through his spiky hair. "Yes, I know. It looks bad. We did make a contract, however, to protect Takahashi, so we'll have to go find him."

"I'd say that his running away is paramount to a nullification of the agreement," said Raven. "Besides, how are we supposed to find him?"

Robin gave another sigh, his eyes closing and his head dropping. Starfire couldn't help but feel a pang of . . .something seeing him like this. "I don't know," he said. The weight of the entire situation was beginning to creep through his defenses, making him want to doubt himself. "I-I don't know anything."

Starfire frowned. "What do you mean?"

Robin looked helplessly at her. "I mean that I've failed us. "I nearly got Beast Boy killed, lost Takahashi and Kaila, and I have no idea how to deal with the Twins."

Starfire was already shaking her. Head. "What happened to Beast Boy was not your fault," she said, steely conviction in her voice. "Neither were the actions of Mr. Takahashi and Kay."

"Yeah Robin," echoed Raven. "You can't blame yourself for what happened."

Robin gave a dejected half-smile. "Everything's just falling apart," he said. "And I honestly don't know what to do."

Starfire hesitated for a moment, but then gave into impulse and placed her hands on Robin's shoulders. Then she hugged him. She was hoping that he wouldn't push her away. To her surprise, he hugged her back, his arms encircling her waist and bringing her close. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Raven give her a nearly imperceptible nod and then quietly leave the room.

The hug should have been awkward, but it wasn't. Neither Robin nor Starfire seemed to notice that they were standing in the middle of the room, locked in place. Robin, although he would vehemently deny it, needed someone to lean on and Starfire desperately wanted to comfort him.

"You did the best you could," she whispered in Robin's ear.

"Wasn't good enough.," he said. She could feel the vibrations through his armor.

"Hey," Starfire interjected. "You saved Takahashi's life. You stopped a gang of assassins. And you've kept Takahashi alive so far. You're doing the best that anyone can expect from you." She pulled back, just far enough so that their foreheads were touching. "I have always trusted you, Robin, and you have done nothing to shake that trust."

Robin couldn't speak. He wondered if Starfire had any idea what she was doing to his emotions. He was attracted to Kay, but the feelings that were suddenly surfacing for Starfire went so much deeper than that. Even as his head lowered, part of him was screaming that what was about to happen was a mistake. Completely unprofessional. The other part urged him on, begging him to give in to the hormones or emotions or whatever that had fostered this newfound attraction.

"Robin," Starfire breathed just before their lips met. She tilted her head, deepening the kiss. That was the intention anyway, until the base's alarm klaxons went off. Cyborg didn't scrimp when it came to security- the sound was like a fire alarm inserted into your eardrum and then activated.

Robin broke the kiss, surprise shocking him back to reality. "Someone's breached the base," he croaked, his voice suddenly dry.

Starfire blinked a few times, but then stepped back. "The Twins?"

"Possibly." Robin drew his cape back around himself and snapped his bo staff open. All seriousness now. "Lets go."

Cyborg waited, sonic cannon armed and ready as the Twins broke through his defenses like tissue paper. He couldn't see them-it was far too dark for that and he'd put no stationary illumination in the tunnels. However, their laughter could still be heard as well as their ominous footsteps. Soon, they would break past the last of his artillery defenses and into view.

Raven came up beside him, already levitating some of the pre-existing scrap metal in the tunnels for use as telekinetic projectiles. She looked different now. More confident and sure of herself. Whatever had happened-cyborg hoped it would give her the edge she needed to push her powers to their potential.

A green glow overhead signaled Starfire's presence, and Robin's entrance behind her completed the team. (Beast Boy excluded for obvious reasons.)

"Remember," Robin said, his voice steady and even, "Regardless of what they are here for, they attacked one of our own. Keep that in mind as you engage them, and remember the high stakes we're playing on."

Cyborg waited for the team leader's customary 'Go Titans!', but it never came. It wasn't needed.

First Ana appeared, then Karl. Perfect Aryans, down to the blond hair and blue eyes.

"How cute," said Ana, hips swaying as she approached. "All of you lined up to fight like a bunch of action figures. Except . . .are you missing a member?"

Robin ignored her mocking words. He nodded to Raven and she nodded back. Then she launched a metal manhole cover right at Ana, its circular shape giving her makeshift projectile both speed and accuracy. Despite the fact the attack came with absolutely no warning though, Ana was able to avoid the brunt of the blow, only receiving a grazing impact on her cheek as she twisted out of the way.

Ana scowled, although her more coolheaded brother stayed conspicuously calm, content to merely survey the scene. Robin suspected that out of the two, he was the more dangerous and made a note to watch out for him.

Wincing slightly, Ana gracefully righted herself into a standing position. "I was going to exchange verbal abuses with you all, but since you seem in such a hurry to die, I won't bother," she snapped. Then she moved, and following her motion would have been like trying to follow a lightning bolt as it hit the ground. Raven had just enough time to put up a telekinetic shield before Ana's punch arrived. Had it connected dead-on, it would have snapped her sternum like a brittle twig and sent bone fragments into her heart. As it was, the impact slammed Raven into one of the tunnel walls. She dropped to her knees, gasping for breath.

Meanwhile, Cyborg and Raven had slightly better luck with accuracy than Raven, Cyborg's sonic beam connecting dead on with the back of Ana's head while Starfire's starbolts pummeled her abdomen. The result was that Ana was flipped forcefully onto the ground. It would have been enough to put anyone else out of the fight, but miraculously, Ana rolled with the impact and turned it into momentum for a impossibly high lead that allowed her to tackle Starfire in midair. The two girls crashed to the ground, Ana on top. She drew back her fist for a killing blow, but then Robin entered the fray.

Bending his bo staff as far as it would go, the Boy Wonder released he end so that it snapped into the side of Ana's neck with an audible thwap. She gagged and rolled over to distance herself from Robin, forgetting about Starfire for the moment.

"I'm going to kill you," she growled, one hand still to the side of her neck.

"Like I haven't heard that one before," said Robin. "Cyborg, Raven, now."

A bright blue sonic beam and a telekinetically controlled crowbar rained abuse on Kay's back, pitching her forward and into Robin's waiting roundhouse kick. Despite being a superhuman fighter, Ana lacked the key skill of monitoring one's surroundings, and now that deficiency was coming back to haunt her.

Robin pressed the attack, unleashing kick after kick after punch to Ana, who was still reeling from Cyborg's sonic attack. He wasn't as strong as Ana by any means, but he had a natural skill with defeating stronger opponents, and he where to hit to inflict the most damage. His fifth blow, a snap kick, sent Ana's head careening upward as if she were gazing at the ceiling, He saw a fleck of blood and smiled to himself. So she could be hurt.

Then Ana caught him by surprise with a back kick that, while not connecting, forced him to abandon his unrelenting barrage. No matter though. There were other Titans after all. . .

Cyborg's fist came from nowhere, packing enough raw power to spin Ana full 360 degrees. Her response was a side kick that put a dent in his chest and knocked flat on his butt. Right over his shoulder, however, came another flurry of Starbolts from Starfire, who was now fully recovered. The bright green energy bolts peppered Ana's face, making it hard to see. She blindly felt around for a rock and then upon finding one hurled it at Starfire's head. Raven, however, caught the rock in her telekinetic grasp and allowed it to drop harmlessly to the ground.

Ana was by no means beat, though. Not yet. She grabbed Cyborg's arm as he was getting to his feet and with a swiftly brutal judo throw sent him careening into Starfire. The Tamaranian girl tried to get out of the way, but Cyborg still came crashing down on her, taking them both out the fight at least temporarily

"Hey Ana," Robin called, diverting her attention back to him. "I know this sounds cliché, but chill out!" Even as he finished his sentence, he was throwing two custom birdarangs at Ana, both arcing gracefully through the air before honing in on Ana.

And so Ana made an understandable mistake. She put out her hand to swat the projectiles away, which would have worked fine had they been normal birdarangs. Outfitted as they were with a liquid nitrogen and condensed water payload though, it didn't work so well. The effects were almost instantaneous as the birdarangs connected with the palm of her hand and detonated, bathing Ana in a torrent of water that was flash-frozen immediately. It was a new untested prototype that lacked the safety precautions of its predecessors. As a result, even the moisture in Ana's own body had probably been flash-frozen as well. She wouldn't be causing them any more trouble.

"I extend a heartfelt congratulations," Karl spoke up for the first time, walking out of the shadows. "Defeating my sister is by no one's definition an easy feat. Especially you, Robin. You have a superb mastery of the martial arts. And the freeze trick . . .brilliant. It will take my dear sister months to recover from that. Its almost a shame that I have to kill you."

"There's no point in doing so now," said Robin. "Takahashi's not even here. Your time would be better spent getting your sister to a hospital, cause right now she's a walking frostbite. Besides, Takahashi isn't even here."

"Don't worry. I will deal with him soon, but you Titans have been a persisting annoyance and I might as well kill you now, seeing as how you're all right here. After you're dead, then I think I'll finish the job with Beast Boy. His time is long overdue."

The smile that Karl gave was positively chilling. "Well then, shall we begin?"

"You can come out now, Kaila," said Takahashi. "I know you've been following me."

A thump to his right indicated the spot where his assistant dropped to the ground from above. "How did you know I was here?" she asked.

"I didn't," replied Takahashi. "Until now." He sighed. "You should have stayed at the safe house."

"I don't think I was very welcome," said Kaila ruefully. "Why did you run off though?"

"To set things right," replied Takahashi as they made their way through the mansion's lower level. "My irresponsibility nearly got Beast Boy killed. So I'm ending this whole business right now."

"You can't kill Thorne," said Kaila. "Even your considerable resources can't protect you from that kind of backlash."

Takahashi looked on as if he hadn't even heard her. "It has to end," he repeated. "Now."


End file.
